Love at the Northern Base
by strawbrryshake
Summary: Written by Gerkyhen & Strawbrryshake LATNB follows the lives of 2 kunochi working for Orochimaru. Ai, a hyperactive fun loving bandit from the Hidden mist and Uren; a sultry, dark and broody relative of Guren.
1. Chapter 1

_Dear readers, welcome to the collaborative work of **Gerkyhen **& **Strawbrryshake** "Love at the Northern Base." We do hope you enjoy the sordid escapades of our lively OC's – if not, well then that's just too bad ;)_

"Kabuto, how are they doing?" the slippery smooth voice of their captor echoed from somewhere in the darkness. Ai, a rouge bandit from the hidden mist was quite terrified. Her little blue eyes blinked against the water that surrounded her in her illuminated prison. She looked over to try and catch a glimpse of her companion, Suigestsu, who's snowy hair danced about his defined ashen face in a similarly looking "fish tank." Ai frowned in thought slightly, "I know we're from the Mist but this is taking the piss a bit surely?" A sudden gurgling noise from within the darkness stopped the small kunochi mid thought and made her jump. Ai pressed her delicate hands against the glass as the fluid was drained from her tank, she struggled a little has her bare feet touched the bottom of her container, there were wires everywhere. She blushed a little when she realised she was indecently exposed, she attempted to cover herself with one hand while the other was pressed to the glass to try and see anything that lay beyond the confines of the tank. In Ai's efforts to determine what the situation was she pressed her pale face to the glass, and clicked her tongue against her shark like teeth. She did not seem to understand how both her and her accomplice were not dead. As she peered out into the void she swore she could have heard the distinct hissing of a snake. Something writhed in the darkness not so far from her prison. She panicked and looked over at her companion who was still floating unconscious in his own container. "What the actual fuck is going on here..." Ai bit down on her lip slightly in anxiety as an eerie but playful chuckled resounded through the blackness she thought she could see a figure moving towards her. "Genjutsu maybe?" she thought and closed her eyes tight in an effort to dispel any such illusion that may have befallen her. "Nah that's not it," she thought to herself as she opened her pale blue eyes again, expecting only the infinite darkness that was the outside. However she was greeted by no such thing, upon refocusing her vision Ai encountered something entirely different. A pair of golden slit eyes gazed down at her from the outside domain and transfixed her. It was as if she had caught sight of something so inhumanly beautiful that she did not have the ability to look away, let alone fear for her life. The light of the container slowly illuminated the snake like face of the man; long silken hair of the darkest colour adorned his shoulders. Every feature resembled that of an elegant reptilian. The texture of his skin looked slender, youthful, smooth; yet somehow wisdom was transcended through it, as if he had lived already for a hundred years. Ai continued to fixate on him as a smirk took what seemed to be a familiar place on this mysterious man. A snake like tongue danced eagerly now on his lips as he lent closer to the glass that separated himself and the mist ninja. He smiled, his tongue snaked back behind his lips; "I like this one!" he chucked darkly intensifying his gaze, he let out a low hiss and withdrew from the light of the tank somewhat so that his features were barely visible. Ai gulped, although this man entranced her, she couldn't help but feel like a prize fish or lobster at a fancy restaurant that had just been selected for dish of the day. The man smiled at the girl's horrified expression and disappeared. Ai breathed a sigh of relief that was short lived as moments later, the glass wall that confined her dropped down exposing her to the cold outside and inevitably this mysterious stranger.


	2. Chapter 2

The girl had already taken an immediate dislike to Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man. Something about him just creeped her out and he seemed pretty full of himself for a simple medic ninja. Feeling irritated, Ai reached out a hand and punched Suigetsu -quite hard- on the chest. "Ow!" Suigetsu complained, casting her an aggravated look before raising his own fist. "Now, now; I can't have you two tearing each other apart." Suigetsu stalled and turned slowly as a shadow descended over them.  
>"Right," the mist ninja nodded. "Sorry." he added offhandedly. Ai glowered at her friend before raising the courage to look at her new master. She had to admit; Lord Orochimaru was having a profound effect on her, and not the type she was usually used to. It wasn't the: 'I just want to smash your head in you stupid fucking bastard!' feeling she usually felt so strongly. No, Orochimaru made her feel extremely odd. Whenever he smiled -which was often- she felt like squirming and her face would heat up. Just being a few steps away from him made her feel slightly faint. Yes, it seemed apparent that Ai was growing quite the fondness for her Lord. She wasn't the first, but the mist ninja didn't know that. Whether Orochimaru was aware of her feelings was still to be contested; he hadn't shown any awareness of it yet. But the Saninn was known for his cunning and slyness, so Ai doubted she would be aware of if he knew or not. Ai got to her feet, pulled Suigetsu up and then looked to Orochimaru. "I'm sorry my Lord," she apologised, she glanced at Suigetsu. "Suigetsu was just being an annoying fuck again." she added in hushed tones, the words only meant for Suigetsu. Suigetsu elbowed her in response and Ai elbowed back. This seemed to amuse Orochimaru greatly as he chuckled gently before nodding at the male mist ninja.<p>"Kabuto requires you back in the lab Suigetsu. It seems the time for more...tests has arrived,"<br>Making his disdain obvious, Suigetsu nodded before heading back to the lab, dragging his feet the whole way. Ai couldn't help but feel sorry for her best friend. They'd been put into a very odd situation and though they were both trying to make the best of it; Ai seemed to be the one faring better. Though the green-haired kunoichi did wonder why they experimented on him and not her, she wasn't about to contest it. The girl preferred the fresh air and not the fish tanks (which she had now deemed racist to mist ninja. In her eyes the blame lay with Kabuto; he most probably made these tanks she had thought viciously).

"Ai, I have a mission for you,"  
>Ai's eyes widened and she gazed at Orochimaru with delight. He was entrusting her with a mission! An honest to God mission! Some small part of Ai wondered out how devoted she was quickly becoming to the man before her, but she just put it down to the fact she had had no other loyalties before this. Plus, Orochimaru was treating her well enough. The mist ninja actually felt quite comfortable in the base.<p>

There she is. Just outside of the training area, perched on a tree branch stood Uren. My new partner.

Uren was a pretty girl of 17 years. Purpely black hair rested over her shoulders and floated down her back as she watched 'Ai' talk to Orochimaru. Uren was the sister of Guren; the woman who had once served Orochimaru. Uren, however, was not necessarily as devoted to Orochimaru as her sister had been. No, in fact the kunoichi was only here, in the Northern Base, because she had nowhere else to go. Uren had no family left -this was something Orochimaru had confirmed upon their meeting- she had, however, discovered that she had had a sister. This was Guren. Orochimaru had described the woman at length, seemingly fondly recalling memories, but he had then informed Uren that Guren was, indeed, dead. He claimed she had died protecting someone called: Yukimaru. Upon realising she was truly alone in the world, Uren had become deeply saddened, something Orochimaru had picked up on. He had offered her a place as his subordinate. Uren had accepted the job. Figuring that if Guren was truly so devoted to Orochimaru -as he had claimed- then he couldn't be that bad. However, though Uren had respect for Orochimaru, she also held doubts...something was off on Orochimaru's story about Guren. Uren couldn't tell quite what yet, but she could tell from the quirk in his mouth whenever he talked about her, the amusement in his eyes. Something told Uren he was lying...but Orochimaru was a good liar and so Uren had no choice but to stay put. Other than her suspicions, Uren fit in well in Orochimaru's establishment. She did not strive to make friends -nor did she- but her sadistic nature and the joy she gained through torturing others with her crystal technique made her a worthy accomplice to the Sound. Ai, it seemed to Uren, did not fit the bracket. She looked no more extraordinary than anyone else around there, but Uren wasn't about to argue with her master and so she hopped down off the tree just in time to hear Ai's excited claim of:

"A mission! Awesome! I won't let you down!"  
>Orochimaru chuckled once again and then gestured towards Uren, who had just appeared next to him, quiet as a shadow; a moody look upon her face.<p>

"This is Uren. She will be your partner for this mission. She knows the details," Orochimaru stepped forward slightly and stroked Ai's cheek. "Don't displease me."

he whispered before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Uren shivered at her master's actions even as Ai let out a small squeal of excitement. The green eyed girl waited until Ai was out of her stupor before starting off in the direction of the trees.

"He...hey!"

Ai shouted incredulously, running to catch up with the other girl's long strides. "Wait up!" the smaller girl reached Uren and smiled widely at her as they walked. "Hi, I'm Ai!" "I know." Uren replied, glowering forward at the trees. Ai giggled. "Yeah, I guess you do," she mused. "So you're Uren right? Nice to meet you." Uren's glare intensified as a small punch landed on her arm courtesy of her new partner. "Mm." she replied, trying to contain her rage. "So..." Ai began again, her husky voice penetrating into Uren's ears. "What's the details? Do we got to beat up some people?" Uren couldn't help but let a small smile slip across her face. At least this one was bloodthirsty. "We're to find ninja and bring them in." she explained coolly.  
>"What, any ninja?" Ai checked. "Yes," Uren answered. "Orochimaru needs more test subjects." "What does he need them for?" Ai wondered, before Uren had a chance to answer she continued gibbering on. "He's very... unusual isn't he? Lord Orochimaru. Quite..." Ai trailed off, blushed and then looked to the sky a grin slipping across her face; showing all her sharp teeth as she watched the clouds. Uren let her gaze slip to the kunoichi. With cool green eyes, Uren watched as Ai strolled along beside her. The green haired girl was completely oblivious to Uren's eyes upon her, still staring up at the sky, in serious danger of banging into a tree, but somehow managing not to each time.<p>

'Yet another subordinate has been brought into the base'  
>Uren mused to herself thoughtfully '<br>But what of Sasuke? What of the future vessel?'  
>An image of Guren's journal flashed into her head. Orochimaru had given her, her deceased sister's journal on the day she had joined. Guren had spoken extensively of her excitement of becoming Orochimaru's new vessel, this excitement had soon waned to bitterness and veiled anger when it became apparent a new vessel had been chosen. One Sasuke Uchiha. Uren was interested in what Sasuke held over her sister. What made Orochimaru treasure the boy so highly? <p>


	3. Chapter 3

Uren snapped from her thoughts as both her and Ai reached the shore of the island, the sky beginning to grey. Ai's grin spread across her face again as she realised they had to cross the channel to get onto the mainland on the other side. "Swimming!" she yelled and ran toward the sea and dived in as Uren stood and rolled her eyes on the beach behind her. Ai surfaced the water some yards out and turned back to find Uren who was quietly gazing at the water's edge. "You coming in!" she called and laughed lightly. Uren let a little smile creep onto her face as she looked back over at Ai. "Nah, not the best at swimming, I'm going to walk." Ai tilted her head to the side in confusion, her sharp little teeth bit down on the corner of her lip. Uren wove a one handed seal and much to Ai's surprise, who assumed she was just going to walk using her chakra; a deep pink crystal pathway appeared and vanished underneath Uren's feet as she walked over the surface of the ocean towards Ai. The little mist ninja frowned and folded her arms in the sea, salty water dripping from her green hair. "Fucking show off!" she huffed and submerged herself to swim across the channel.

Upon reaching the other side Ai emerged from the sea covered in salt she had only just realised swimming in the ocean might not have been the best idea. She looked over at Uren who gracefully landed on the sand, the last of the crystal dissolved behind her last steps. "hey! wait for me Uren!" Ai ran to catch up with her partner and playfully punched her in the arm once she had reached her. Uren rewarded the gesture with a daggering glare. "Dont, do that." She pushed through her gritted teeth. Ai frowned then rolled her eyes, "Come on! What's up with you being so miserable all the time anyway?" Uren blushed in anger slightly and responded quickly. "I'm not miserable!" Ai raised her eyebrow "You bloody are, what's your deal anyway? How'd you end up working for Lord Orochimaru?" Uren grimaced, she really wished this new kunochi would mind her own business.  
>"It's a...It's a long story." the taller female replied. Ai glanced at her curiously as she squeezed water out of her hair. "And this is a long journey," she replied. The mist ninja reached out a fist and landed another light punch on Uren's shoulder. "C'mon! Tell meeeee." "I told you to stop doing that," Uren retorted irritably. The Kunoichi wasn't one to tell all her secrets to a friend, let alone a complete stranger...even so she supposed she should throw the smaller girl a bone. "I found Orochimaru when I was searching for my sister...she used to be one of his subordinates." 'There' thought Uren bitterly 'That's all you're getting from me.' Ai, however, seemed to disagree with Uren's thoughts as she suddenly launched into a barrage of questions. "What happened to your sister? Is she dead? And you found Orochimaru? Hm...he more seems the type that would find you. If you get my meaning..."<br>Uren turned her head slightly and looked down at the girl from the corner of her eyes. "You seem to think a lot of things about Orochimaru, don't you?" The affect of this question was instantaneous; Ai blushed a bright red and she bit lightly at her lip. "Don't tell me you can't see why." she protested. Uren shook her head, causing her radiant dark hair to swish as it glinted in the sun. "No," she replied. "I really can't see why. He may be my master, but there's something off about him. I wouldn't go there Ai." It all came out in a rush that quite frankly started Uren. What did she care if her new partner got hurt? That was the ultimate end to any woman -or man- that found themselves interested in Orochimaru...Guren's journal seemed proof of that. Within the words lay a constant feeling that Guren wanted Orochimaru to notice her, but each time she tried anything romantically it seemed she was rebuffed or ravished and then left in her room alone. To Uren it had seemed rather a sad existence, but Guren had wrote proudly of her nights with Orochimaru. While Uren was lost in thought, Ai glowered at her sulkily. "Sorry mother," she quipped before grinning once more. With a raised eyebrow the green-haired Kunoichi edged a little closer to her partner as they walked. "But was that concern I sensed? Are you worried for you lil' 'ol partner?" she cooed. Uren ran a hand through her long hair and glared at Ai. "I'm perhaps worried that you'll be deemed to weak and killed...yes." This shut Ai up. The girl went quiet and chewed at her lip. The two walked in silence for a while and eventually the sad look on Ai's face began grating on Uren's nerves. "Hey, look, I'm sure you're not too weak. I'm sure you won't be killed or...whatever." the girl shrugged and looked towards the trees, hoping to avoid eye contact. She wasn't particularly known for her prowess at social interaction. "Awwww," Ai cooed. Uren turned her head slowly to look at the other Kunoichi. "I want to be friends too!" Ai declared happily. "Let's be the greatest ninja team ever, right?" the girl raised her hand for a high-five. Uren looked at it coolly and waited until Ai dropped her palm. "Yeah, sure. Let's be friends..." she agreed causing Ai to squeal happily. "Awesome!" she celebrated.

"We've been walking for ages," Ai sighed and she kicked at a stone irritably. "I'm bored and parched." It was true that the Kunoichi had been travelling for a while now, with no sign of any ninja around. Uren rolled her eyes and sighed, Ai was right, she to was quite irritable with the lack of prey. "That's what happens when you swim in the sea right before a mission." Uren grumbled, wove a sign and collapsed on a chair shaped crystal that materialized. Ai raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck? You use that weird jutsu of yours for like, EVERYTHING." The little mist girl folded her arms and frowned. "Problem?" Uren replied irritably, her arms to where now folded across her body. "Yeah!" Ai raised her fist to the dark haired girl. "Where's mine!" she whined and Uren raised an eyebrow. finally she rolled her eyes and wove a sign, a pink crystal chair identical to her own appeared. "Here." Ai grinned and threw herself onto the chair. "Thank you partner!" she beamed and seemed to melt into the back of the chair. Uren glanced over at her new accomplice curiously and blinked her dark green eyes. "So what's your deal then?" she questioned, she didn't understand her sudden curiosity in the mist kunochi. Ai rolled her head back to make upside down eye contact with Uren. "Hated my parents so I ran away from home and became a ninja!" she grinned accentuating her sharp teeth. Uren raised an eyebrow, "and you actually went through with that?" This angered her slightly, she hadn't had a chance to meet her real family, she was a little envious. "Then I met Suigetsu and we have been traveling together for about a year or so now, he's funny!" Ai continued, it amazed Uren how upbeat she was all the time, made her feel a little ill, but it was still impressive. "That the other fish guy right? White hair?" Uren asked to which Ai nodded; "Yep! Thats us! Mist ninjas!" she let out a girly laugh then resumed her quirky habit of chewing her lip. Uren smirked and poked Ai playfully. "So, you have a crush on Orochimaru huh?" Ai turned a vibrant shade of scarlet and went to violently protest but Uren's eyes shifted to her left and she shhh'd Ai. "Someones spotted us and is actually foolish enough to try and throw a kuani at me in 3, 2, 1-" Ai flipped back behind her crystal chair as Uren seemingly vanished as a kunai embedded itself in her own chair, a violent scream of a young man was heard moments later. 'Uren!' Ai called after her team mate to no response. The little ninja ran over to locate her team mate behind the thick trees of the forest, she let out a scream when she found them. Uren glanced up at Ai from her position on the ground next to the young ninja, who she had mutilated unnecessarily. The man was drenched in his own blood, pink needles of crystal protruded from near enough every inch of his body on one side, including his face. Ai covered her mouth in disgust when she realized his right eye had been pierced and had therefore exploded in the socket. Uren stood gracefully from her crouched position on the ground and sighed. "He's unconscious, that's no fun." she said flatly and began to produce a sort of crystal cart to return the ninja in. She toppled the gross body of the ninja into cart and graciously gave the handle to Ai. "You can pull him, Orochimaru will be pleased." Ai grinned at the prospect of pleasing her master but then her attention returned to the crystal impaled ninja as she pulled the cart alongside her companion. "Was all that neccessary Uren? Shouldn't subjects be like, I dunno, not on the verge of death when we bring them to Lord Orochimaru?" Uren gritted her teeth in annoyance. "You really don't know much about me do you?" her face softened into a small smile as she glanced back at the violently injured shinobi. "You're a weirdo..." Ai shuddered and continued to pull the cart back towards the base. "Orochimaru is far worse," she retorted, once against Ai was plauged by by butterflies and a inconsolable blush. Uren chuckled, "let's just go home." Ai smiled back at her, "Yeah, home!" 


	4. Chapter 4

The two girls had been travelling for a while, the base nearly in sight when the injured ninja they were bringing in let out a loud groan of pain. Ai whipped round, walking over Uren's crystal bridge was uncomfortable enough. "He's waking up!" she hissed at Uren, who glanced over at her. "Yes," she nodded. "I noticed." Ai was silent, she bit her lip as they walked, constantly throwing glances over her shoulder at the man who was letting out an odd moan of pain every now and again. "Ai," Uren sighed, once the other girl's movements were becoming an annoyance. "Don't worry about it; Orochimaru tends to like his subjects being conscious when he first meets them anyway." "He does?" Ai murmured, pressing a thumb to her lip and wiping away some blood from the wound that she had made with her sharp teeth.  
>"Mhmm." Uren confirmed, looking to the trees once again. 'What is Orochimaru really like?' Ai wondered thoughtfully to herself, as a pensive look overtook her pretty face 'Is he really as sadistic as Uren claims?' The mist ninja shuddered a little, but not through disgust. In fact...the girl couldn't really pinpoint the emotion she was feeling. Maybe...excitement? The man behind her moaned once again, snapping Ai out of her thoughts. "Jeez, this guy is really starting to piss me off," she growled. The girl rocked the cart behind her viciously. "The moans are fucking annoying." "I'm quite enjoying them," Uren confessed, she turned to look at the man. He looked back with his one good eye; fear clearly cemented on his face. 'Time for a little emotional torture.' Uren enjoyed both psychical and emotional torture; it was just the look on the people's faces as they realised they were going to die or be hurt that brought her such joy. "We're bringing you to Orochimaru," she informed him. The man's eye widened and he groaned in both panic and pain, at moving his face. Uren smirked sadistically. "Oh, do you know of Orochimaru then?" she purred, the woman moved closer as she walked along beside the cart. "So you know he's going to crush you like a bug?" Uren made a shape of a bug with her crystal before smashing it with the palm of her hand. The man let out a pitiful groan. Blood began running down the side of his face. Slowly, his head lolled back as he lost consciousness once again. This time, however, it was due to fear; something that made Uren very happy. "You're one sadistic ass bitch, you know?" Ai chuckled as the base came within sight. "I know." Uren replied happily.<p>"Ah; Ai, Uren, you're back." Uren's face dropped as, upon entering the base, they were greeted by Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man. Uren and Kabuto did not get on well together. He grated on her nerves to no end and he seemed to relish irritating her at every opportunity. Ai, too, was annoyed by Kabuto's presence. Pouting in a childish way and placing her hands on her hips, the girl glared at the man before her with pale, ice blue eyes.<br>"Where is Lord Orochimaru?" she demanded. Kabuto's mouth widened into a smirk; he could sense the girls loyalty from a mile off. 'Lord Orochimaru certainly has his ways' he thought to himself. "Lord Orochimaru is currently out of the base," he informed them. "He's collecting his next vessel and bringing him here." Kabuto's eyes flickered to Uren, to gauge her reaction. As he expected the girl's interest seemed to peak. "The new vessel?" she enquired; hiding her interest behind a blank monotone. "Sasuke Uchiha?"  
>Ai looked from Uren to Kabuto before looking bored and grabbing onto the cart with the moaning man in it. "Yes, Sasuke Uchiha." Kabuto answered, his glasses glinting. He seemed about to say more, until Ai pulled the cart in front of him and cocked her head at him. "We've got it, he's collecting some vessel, can I go now? I've got better things to do than talk to your boring ass all day." Uren smiled quietly at her new partner's actions. The girl enjoyed nothing better than seeing Kabuto be ridiculed. Kabuto glowered down at the mist ninja. "I advise you lose that attitude, lest you displease Lord Orochimaru." he advised. Ai rolled her eyes before pushing past the medic ninja. "I respect Lord Orochimaru," she shot over her shoulder. "Not you." Kabuto glared after her and then turned to say something to Uren, but the girl was already gone. Kabuto shook his head before grabbing hold of the cart and pulling it away. Well...attempting to pull it away. 'What the?' Kabuto turned to look at the cart and sighed irritably when he saw that Uren had loaded hundreds upon hundreds of crystal rocks upon the cart, deliberately making it heavier for him. 'Nothing but nuisances' he hissed inside his head as he began the laborious job of dispensing all of he crystal rocks off of the cart.<p>

At 4am in the Northern Base; Ai was dreaming.  
>"Mm, yes, Lord Orochimaru," Ai moaned quietly as she turned, once again in her sleep. "Lord Orochimaru..." she repeated. "Ai." "Orochimaru..." "Ai." "Orochimaru..." "Ai!" Uren growled, she shoved at the mist ninja forcefully once it became apparent that just speech was not working. Ai shot up immediately. "What!" she shouted. Uren breathed heavily before slapping her hand around Ai's mouth. "Ssh." she hissed.<br>"Mmuremn?" Ai questioned her eyes wide in confusion, Uren's name muffled against the said girl's hand.  
>Uren nodded and then slowly took her hand off the other girl's mouth. Ai blinked at her; her -usually quite messy and layered- hair even messier than usual, the sleeve of her sleeping top drooping down on one side. "What are you doing here?" she asked loudly. "Ssh," Uren repeated, but with more force this time. "Orochimaru is back." Ai stared at her for a moment before grinning. "He is! Cool!" the mist ninja leapt out of her bed and ran for the door. "Ai, wait!" Uren moaned, rushing after her. Did her partner not realise it was 4 -friggin- am? The crystal jutsu user hurried to catch up with Ai, and upon reaching her was awarded with a barrage of questions. "So he brought the new vessel right? That's cool. What is the new vessel? Do you think the new vessel is nice?" Uren didn't even bother replying to these and instead yanked Ai, by the collar, into the main hall of the Northern Base, where Orochimaru currently stood, his back to them. An ebony haired boy stood next to him and with Kabuto by his side. They were talking quietly...well Kabuto was. As soon as Uren had stepped into the hall, Orochimaru turned. He smiled at her arrival and then his smile widened when Ai popped her head out from behind her friend. "Uren, Ai. Welcome," he purred. "I presume you've come to meet Sasuke?" Uren nodded mutely, her gaze on the boy who still had his back to them. "Sasuke. Say hello." Orochimaru implored, an amused smile on his face. Sasuke turned and Uren was nearly knocked back. The boy before her was enchanting to look upon. A soft black fringe framed his pale, handsome face. Dark, blank eyes full of...something shined towards her. Smooth, perfect lips formed around one syllable as he responded. "Hn," he nodded and then looked back to Orochimaru. "I didn't come here for pleasantries Orochimaru-"<br>"Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto cut in irritably. "Where are my quarters?" Sasuke continued as if the grey-haired ninja had never spoken. "Hey, hey Uren," Uren couldn't take her eyes off of Sasuke even as Ai nudged her, a knowing smirk slapped onto her face. "Someone looks a little..." Ai leaned closer to whisper the next part. "Enthralled." Sasuke suddenly poofed out of the room, closely followed by Kabuto, as Orochimaru turned to the two girls. Uren blinked as she snapped out of her stupor. 'That was Sasuke Uchiha?' Uren's hands went to her heart as it slowly decreased in pace. Uren remembered that in Guren had mentioned Sasuke's looks, in her journal, but Uren had just ignored it. She wasn't usually interested in romance, but...Sasuke had been enchanting. "So, my dears," Orochimaru moved closer, a smirk dancing on his lips. "Kabuto informs me that you retrieved the test subject I desired...and in one piece no less...though he did mention there were a few...wounds?" Ai blushed at the closeness of her master and bit her lip as she swung her hips from side to side slightly. "We're ever so sorry my Lord. It was Uren's fault though; she insisted on torturing him." Uren glowered at her. She probably would have said something, but Sasuke's face still danced within her mind's eye. "Hmhm," Orochimaru chuckled slightly. "Yes, our Uren is known for acts of violence," he toyed with Ai's hair slightly as he talked, his eyes melting into hers. "You did an excellent job. You've clearly gelled well as a partnership." he looked thoughtful for a moment as the back of his hand stroked down Ai's face and then he poofed away, leaving a -now- stunned Ai with an equally as stunned Uren. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." Uren joked and poked Ai in the shoulder. The little mist ninja snapped out of her stupor. The girl frowned and punched Uren in the arm. "You can talk! Did you SEE your face just now?" Ai retorted. Uren blushed and embarrassed she looked away. She'd never felt like that about anyone before, especially not at first sight. "I don't know what you're talking about." she insisted and folded her arms as they walked back towards their rooms. Ai smirked at her partner "Sureeee you don't." she giggled then tugged at Urens shorts. "Can I see your bedroom?" she pleaded, throwing her best puppy dog eyes that were usually reserved only for Orochimaru. Uren rolled her eyes; "fine but you aren't staying in there forever..." Ai's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Yay girly time!" she squealed, much to her friends dismay. The pair turned a corner and Uren pushed open her bedroom door, Ai's eyes widened. "Wow..." she said looking around the room. "I've never seen so much, well, crystal!" It was true that the entire room was adorned with crystal. Crystal ornaments, furniture, even the large mirror was constructed from pink shiny crystal. Uren laughed at her friends reaction as the pair sat on the bed. "Ai..." Uren began taking a serious tone. The little mist girl looked up, she didn't understand why her partner had changed tone. "Yeah?" Uren continued - "There are some things I think you should know, about Orochimaru..." Ai bit her lip anxiously. "Oh..." she replied as they decsended into conversation. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh, well I'm really sorry about your sister, Uren. I -" Ai paused, the last thing she would want was to offend her newly found closest friend. "I think, she would have been really proud of you." There was an infinite saddness that lingered in Urens eyes, but Ai's words seemed to have dispelled this for but a moment and smile formed on her lips. "Thanks Ai," Uren said softely then changed the subject back to their master. "So, baring in mind what I've told you, just be careful ok? I'd be bored if you became miserable or died." The pair laughed and Ai playfully punched the pale girl's arm. "I appriciate that you've told me everything about him, I gotta say though, I'm just more excited than I was before, I can't really seem to help it..." Ai trailed off as she scratched the back of her head in embarassment. Uren sighed but a smile still remanded on her face, her eyes seemed to have gained a sparkle that evening. "I'm not worried if you aren't and I am being honest here, he seems very, well, close with you. I've never seen him talk to anyone like the way he talks to you." Ai squeeled and positively jumped up and down on the bed. Uren laughed and ran a hand through her silky black hair. "Really!" the little green haired girl beamed then bit her lip and her eyes glazed over as if she was day dreaming. Uren played with a crystal neclace she was wearing and she to took a moment to think over things. "Oi!" Ai exclaimed and snapped Uren to. "So, Sasuke Uchiha huh?" she giggled as Uren immediately went scarlet and twtiched her eye. "Yes," she began to respond robotically to hide her sudden flush of emotion. "What do you think he's like?" Ai interrupted her, she couldn't be bothered to play Urens games. "Well Guren described him pretty accurately. Down right rude and arrogant." Uren said, attempting to convince herself that there was no other side to the boy who had enchanted her without saying a single word in her direction. "So what's his story? Come on Uren it's not like you aren't interested!" Ai teased. Uren frowned but endevoured to tell her the little facts she did know about the new arrival. "He's pretty much Orochimaru's prized possession as I explained before. Seems our master is training him to defeat some great rival of his then he's handing himself over to become the new vessel." Uren suddenly went cold, she couldn't bare the thought of Orochimaru taking the boys life. Ai frowned, "So like, how old is Orochimaru?" Uren laughed, "I have no idea, I know he's been around a good 50 years though, but don't worry the guy considers himself immortal." Ai wiped the shocked look off her face and replaced it with a grin. "Oh well! That's ok then!" the two girls laughed into the early morning, it was fortunate nothing had been asked of them the next day.

*  
>Ai awoke groggily to the sounds of what she knew could not be mistaken as Suigetsu screaming at someone. "What the fuck?" Ai thought almost aloud as she scrambled out of bed in her sleeping gear and stumbled outside. Sure enough her old hidden mist comrade was having a full out argument with a very good looking redhead. Ai raised an eyebrow and observed the pair. "Yeah well you give me the creeps you disgusting fish thing!" she girl screamed at him, two fingers pressed to the frame of her glasses in aggravation, she was right up in Suigetsu's face. The purple eye'd swordsman glowered at the shorter red head and rudely told her to mind her own business. "Trust me, next time I will!" and with that she stormed off leaving behind a bewildered Ai and an agitated Suigetsu. "Sui, what the fuck?" the boy gave the largest eyeroll imaginable, then shook his head in dismay. "Orochimaru paired us up and I fucking hate her guts." Suigetsu spat at the floor. "Seems like the feeling's mutual" retorted Ai who then yawned. "Oh right, Orochimaru wants to see you actually, just you. Said you should go to his quarters when you're ready." Suigetsu stated and Ai's face notably forgot the meaning of the word let out a squeal of joy and ran back into her room to ready herself. "Have all the women lost it round here?" Suigetsu wondered aloud before storming off to find his highly resented team mate. Ai quickly sorted her hair out in the mirror and changed her clothes, she opened her door to find Uren standing there just about to knock. A smirk formed on the girls red lips. "so I take it you've been told he wants to see you?" Ai grinned widely and nodded as the girls left the room together. "and where are you off to? Hmmm?" Ai questioned as mischievous look played on her face. Uren rolled her eyes as Ai continued to poke fun at her. "not going to try and stalk someone are we?" at this Uren bashed her over the head with her hand. "don't be ridiculous!" but she looked to the side in denial. Ai laughed as they reached a fork in the corridors of the base. Uren smiled and ruffled ai's hair. "have fun!" she laughed and headed off as Ai took the corridor adjacent and headed for her masters quarters.<p>

The door opened just as Ai was about to knock, this startled her but she timidly made her way through it. Orochimaru stood in the corner looming over a chemistry set that had been set up there. He poured something from one vile onto another and a small "poof" was heard as smoke brimmed the full vile. The snake sannin promptly whisked round and smirked at Ai. The hue of his golden eyes, the purple lines that defined them took the little mist ninja's breath away and she felt she was going to melt into the very ground she stood upon. He advanced towards her and handed her the vile. He stroked her hair gently and smiled, "Drink this, I want to see how it affects you." he instructed, licking his lips. Ai looked at the vile, what was this concoction supposed to do to her? "Don't hesitate now, or it won't work!" Ai blushed and immediately downed the liquid, it tasted absolutely foul and burned her throat like liquid fire. She struggled to control herself. Orochimaru chuckled then with his slender hand tilted Ai's face up, in order to examine her eyes. Ai gulped as her eye contact connected with his, the gold melted into the pale blue like a perfect beach sunset. "L-l-lo-rd orochi-" Ai began but was erriley shh'd by her master who momentarily placed a soft finger to her lips as he continued to examine the pupils of her eyes. Ai could sense the ridiculous smirk he wore just by seeing the way his entrancing eyes studied her. "Hmn... no change there..." he muttered and let go of the girl's face. He turned back to his chemistry set to adapt the ingredients of whatever it was he was trying to make. By this point Ai had turned a shade of scarlet and she nervously bit her lip as she watched her master work. She couldn't understand what she felt, maybe it was the drugs, but Ai couldn't take her eyes off of her master. She was terrified and excited all at the same time, she edged closer to him. "Whatcha making? Lord Orochimaru?" she inquired sweetly, swinging her hips and gently chewing on her lip. Her pale blue eyes were ablaze with excitement. Orochimaru turned to her and suddenly frowned. He placed his thumb over where the kunochi had cut herself on her lip with her razor sharp teeth. He hissed softly, "You shouldn't do that, we wouldn't want you to ruin your pretty little face now would we?" He withdrew his hand and beamed at her as her eyes widened and an inconsealable blush made its way back onto her cheeks. Ai was stunned, 'Why did he just do that? Maybe he does like to tease his subject just like Uren explained...' she thought uneasily as she was fed another vile of liquid by her master. It tasted sweeter this time, but still burned her throat. She shivered as Orochimaru's face came incredibly close to hers once again, examining her pupils and the blood vessels under her skin. "hmmn..." Ai felt some of his silky black hair fall over her bare shoulder and she gulped when Orochimaru stopped his observations with his lips inches from her own. He smirked and brushed some of her green hair from her face. "This one's made your heart rate rise, or did it? What do you say? Ai?" His hands were now on her shoulders, Ai was paralysed, the only thing her body could do to stop her from slowly pressing her lips to his. "Not...sure..." she managed to get out as Orochimaru's tounge danced about his lips, there was somthing new in his eyes, but Ai couldn't put her finger on it. The pair were then suddenly interrupted by the presence of Kabuto. Orochimaru hissed at him, the moment was over.

*  
>As soon as she had left Ai's side, Uren's happy smile had deleted itself off of her face. Now, a look of determination was worn upon it. She was going to find Sasuke Uchiha and she was going to find out why he was willing to give his body up to Orochimaru. She was going to say...well, the girl wasn't quite sure what she was going to say really. A small part of the teenager told her that maybe getting words out in front of the good-looking boy could be a trifle difficult, but Uren wasn't one to back down, and nor was she one to be led by her emotions. And it was with this mindset that Uren walked with, until she found Sasuke training -by himself- outside on one of the many training fields. Uren stalled slightly and one of her hands reached up to her long, lustrous locks and she raked her fingers through them, gathering the courage to proceed. She opened her mouth, but Sasuke got there first. His back to her, he stopped his high-speed movements. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice void of emotion. It wasn't even really a question, it was obvious to Uren that he was implying she should leave, but she didn't. Uren was not going to be intimidated, regardless of who he was and what she'd read about him. She stepped forward and moved closer to him, her eyes alight with curiosity behind a mask of boredom. "You're Sasuke Uchiha," she stated. Sasuke didn't reply, he stayed with his back to her. Uren's eyes were led to the back of his neck; the smooth, pale, vulnerable skin that was adorned with the mark of Orochimaru. How could this boy be willing to lose himself? To gain revenge this person before her was willing to die...Uren gulped slightly before continuing. "You're the next vessel...correct?" she continued. Sasuke looked to the side and Uren watched as his eyes shifted to look at her coldly. His fringe covered those dark black orbs slightly, giving him a slightly scary look. Uren had to admit, she felt intimidated. There was nothing but hatred in those pits of black. Uren dropped her gaze to the floor for a second, but she persisted; she was curious. She needed the answer to her question, not only was she curious as to Sasuke's motives, but she wished to know how someone could be so uncaring about their body...about their soul. A small part of Uren wondered if Sasuke could help her discover why Guren had been so willing to be the next vessel.<br>"I have a question for you," there was a confidence in her voice. A confidence that Uren had mustered up through pure will. This confidence made Sasuke turn. He still looked uninterested and perhaps a little irked at being interrupted half way through training, but he looked at her now. His obsidan eyes staring straight at her, burning into her making her shift uneasily. A blush crept onto her face, a blush that the girl loathed and truly tried to fight off. This was not a matter of attraction. She wasn't looking for that. She was looking for answers. 'I may as well get this over with' the girl decided before opening her mouth once again, ruby red lips forming around words that she had always wondered.  
>"Why are you willing to be Orochimaru's next vessel?" she questioned.<br>No emotion flickered upon Sasuke's face and no emotion became apparent within his eyes, so Uren persisted. Was this boy really so unfeeling? "You're giving up your life," she continued. "You understand this? You're throwing away everything and for what? Orochimaru is using you. Letting you grow strong until the perfect moment comes along. You shouldn't trust him..." these were not the words that she had intended for Sasuke. These were words intended for Guren. This was what she wanted to tell her, she wanted to make her understand, but she couldn't. Her sister was lost to her...and it was all that snake's fault. Sasuke just stared at her blankly, his eyebrow raised slightly at the emotion in her tone, but otherwise he looked unmoved. "I don't trust him." he stated. Uren looked up at him, confusion evident upon her face. "Then why are you doing this?" she demanded, anger seeped into her tone. This boy had the privilege of not trusting his master. Something Guren had never had. He could just run away, leave this place, but he stayed for power...to Uren it seemed greedy. She knew she wasn't really angry at the boy before her, it was just the thoughts of Guren clouding her mind once again. Emotions about a sister she'd never known except through the written word seeping into her brain. Sasuke sounded annoyed when he next spoke. "Why do you care?" he replied. His steady gaze stayed upon her face and Uren could feel her cheeks warming once again. "I...I don't care!" she retorted. "Fine, be a fool." "Hn," Sasuke turned his back on her, a small smile slipped onto his lips for a moment. Uren's childish antics reminding him of himself when he was much younger, but then he remembered why he was here...as if he could ever truly forget. "Be gone," he instructed. "I need to train." "Be gone!" Uren growled, annoyance seeped into her tone. First he made her feel sad, then embarrassed and now he was commanding her? 'Fine.' She snapped in her head. 'I will go!' The girl glowered at the back of the boy's head as she discreetly fashioned a crystal in the palm of her hand. The crystal left her hand and hurtled towards Sasuke. Without pause, Uren swiftly poofed away. The crystal did not hit Sasuke -he ducked in time- but it fell in front of him. He looked down at it and mild interest creeped into his eyes when he noticed the crystal was in a shape of a heart. Uren, whether she knew it or not, had accidentally sent Sasuke an inadvertent message. 


	6. Chapter 6

Ai was having some trouble tolerating her partner today for it seemed as though whatever anyone did or said, it was not going to have a positive effect. The pair had been issued the mission of traveling into the land of fire to record various data for Orochimaru. "Uren..." Ai began, again she was greeted by the cold hard glare of Uren's treacherous green eyes. "Where are we in relation to our target?" Uren remained silent and thrust her map at her, her face looked like a slapped arse. Ai frowned and took the map from her, "thanks" she responded flatly. 'What the fuck crawled up her ass and died? I guess the stalking mission produced negative results? No need to take it out on me you stupid crystal slinging idiot...' Ai was drawn from her thoughts when she clearly felt a presence among the leafy trees here in fire country. "Uren..." she whispered. "I know," she replied calmly, apparently she was well up for a fight. The two stood in a battle stance as they paused to sense their opponent. Ai looked around and raised an eyebrow, "Uren can you hear...like...?" Uren nodded, not moving from her stance. "Like insects?" she replied and a swarm of thousands of insects descended upon them from the side. Uren made a one handed seal and grinned as the bugs crystallized and fell to the ground before reaching their target. Meanwhile Ai had engaged in combat with what appeared to be a very large dog and it's owner. "Kiba!" a boy's voice called from the direction in which the insects had attacked. "Its the same jutsu as that time! We need to make a plan, back off." The brown haired wild eyed boy that was in combat with Ai stopped, allowing Ai to swiftly punch him in the face. "Damn that girl's got a hit! Akamaru, lets go" the dog joined his master as they retreated into the forest. Uren's eye where wide, 'Same jutsu as before? Who were those ninjas?' The pale girl turned to Ai and lead her onwards. "Lets go." She instructed and Ai frowned. "Are you gonna tell me what the actual fuck your problem is any time soon?" the mist ninja screamed at her, Uren's constant attitude since the other day was driving her insane, she wanted her friend back. Uren threw her partner a glare, "No." Ai frowned and folded her arms. "We need to work as a team or we'll be seriously hurt!" Uren wasn't buying it however and stalked gloomily ahead. Ai chased after her reached a hand up to her shoulder. "I don't know what the fuck your deal is right now, but I don't think we should do this at the moment." Uren sighed and turned back the other way. "I guess I have interrogation duties I could attend to and Lord Orochimaru doesn't need anything on this place for another week. I guess we can come back tomorrow?" Ai smiled and nodded at her companion. "That's the spirit! But seriously what the fuck is wrong with you?" Uren shrugged as the girls headed back to base "Just a bad mood I guess, torturing someone to death will definitely solve everything." A smile spread across the girl's ruby red lips as she savoured the memory of her last victim. "You really should find another hobby," Ai murmured. Suddenly another presence was felt at the edge of the forest. "They followed us!" Uren let out as the two kunochi took up a fighting stance. "Rasengan!" a brightly coloured orange figure descended upon them from the trees a glowing blue orb crashed into the ground beside the girls as they flipped backwards to avoid the blast. Uren's arm sent up a crystal shield to protect them from the debris. "Naruto!" a girls voice echoed from within the trees and a kunochi emerged kunai in hand. The boy who had attacked them double backed to the girl, obviously his team mate before barking questions at the forgein team. "Who the heck are you guys! You work for Orochimaru?" Ai gritted her sharp teeth and cracked one of her knuckles. "None of your fucking business!" Uren placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Yes we do," the boy's eyes widened. "Where is Sasuke!" he screamed at the pair, much to their surprise. Uren raised an eyebrow as she watched the boy's pink haired team mate hold him back. 'What does this guy have to do with Sasuke Uchiha?' "We don't have time for your childish nonsense, let's go Ai" Uren turned to leave suddenly a horrible feeling struck her sense. "Naruto stop!" the blonde boy's female companion called to him as he began to growl like he was some sort of animal. Ai gulped and looked at Uren for an explanation. "This...chakra..." Uren started as the boys skin seemed to start boiling at the surface. Uren instinctively grabbed Ai's hand, "We need to get out of here, now." At that moment the boy went for them and Uren was barely able to block his attack as they attempted to retreat. "What the fuck is that?" Ai screamed as the pair dodged more of the on coming attacks. "Yamato!" they scarcley heard the girl scream in the back ground. Uren fell over in her attempts to block the orange ninja, he was going to strike again and she didn't have time to move. 'Well at least I can join my sister now...' She closed her eyes but the boy struck something else instead of Uren. "Ai!" Uren yelled as she realised her companion had defended her with merely her knuckle duster. The little mist girl fell to the ground clutching her arm, it was quite clear that the blow had shattered all her bones. Much to Uren's surprise, a wooden wall suddenly engulfed the blonde ninja and he was dragged backwards, away from the pair. "Ai, Ai come on get up we have to go!" Uren desperately tried to pull the girl to her feet and they disappeared in the direction of the ocean. As they neared the ocean, Ai started coughing up blood, it seemed that the blow had infact shattered her rib cage as well. "Ai, Ai can you hear me? Hold on ok? Don't you dare pass out Orochimaru is going to kill me!" The mist ninja's pale blue eyes lulled as she was only just conscious. Uren decided it would be best to carry Ai on her back so as to get medical attention faster. With this done they sped across the ocean on waves of pink crystal, Uren had never had a partner before and she certainly wasn't going to let her first one die.

"Karin!" Uren screamed as they entered the base, she sped directly to the medical wing with the little pale kunochi now lifeless on her back. "Karin! God damnit!" she screamed again as she reaced the wing. The red head emerged from a door in the hall and fixed her glasses. "Oh dear lord, come on put her on a bed." Karin instructed and they gently laid the green haired girl out on a bed. She pushed her glasses up then began immediately using her unique medical abilities to rescue Ai. "Uren," Karin said motionlessly, "wait outside, there is quite extensive damage here, I need to concentrate." Uren took one last look at her partner before exiting the room. She closed the door gently and pressed her back to the wall. She held her delicate face in her hands, then pulled at her hair in frustration as she slid down the wall, ending up in a heap at the bottom. 'What... have I done?' Uren felt she was going to cry, and just sat there, her purplely black hair shrouding her in compete and utter despair.

*  
>Uren looked up lifelessly from her spot on the ground, Orochimaru looked down at her. There was something about his eyes she had never seen before, it was almost like he was concerned for Ai. As if he were angry at what had happened. It was a bitter look and it scared Uren, for she knew what happened to those who displeased the master. "You messed up," he stated calmly, "I'll be back in 1 minute, prepare yourself." With that he walked past her into the room where Ai was being worked on. Uren gulped and started trying to get herself onto her feet. Orochimaru closed the door gently behind him and walked over to Karin who was furiously pouring her chakra into Ai. "What happened?" he asked, there was a very slight hint of urgency in his voice. Karin wiped some sweat from her forehead, she was still focused on her patient. "To put it simply all the bones down the left side of body are shattered, her lungs have been punctured as a result of the damage as well. She must have been defending her partner. Pretty reckless if I'm honest." Orochimaru acknoleged Karin's response and walked to the side of Ai's bed. He gazed down at the pale little mist ninja and lifted his hand slowly to her face. Karin raised her eyebrow as he brushed some of the girl's green hair from her forehead. "She'll be fine." he said flatly and turned his back on the pair and exited the room. "Uren," he hissed, and the crystal style user gulped at the eerie calm of his voice. "Follow me..."<p>

Uren couldn't help the fear that slowly began overwhelming her as she followed her master. She watched his feet as she walked, trying to calm herself down by counting the rhythmic clacking of his sandals against the stone. It didn't work. Uren could admit she was scared. Orochimaru was not known for his mercy; he was a harsh master and a cruel man and this was always shown through the punishments he inflicted upon his subordinates. Uren had to admit though; she was lucky to still be living. Orochimaru suddenly came to a stop in front of a door, he leant against the wall and then nodded stiffly at her. "Go in," he instructed, the silky smoothness that usually floated within his tone sounded strained. Uren nodded shakily -knowing that to argue would be a fruitless endeavor- and then ventured into the room. Orochimaru followed her in, his arms crossed. The room was dark, but Uren could just make out a figure standing by the far wall; red eyes shone out of the darkness. The bloody beauty of the Sharingan.  
>"You are to fight Uren, Sasuke," Orochimaru declared, his voice harsh and strong from behind Uren.<br>There was a silence as Sasuke slowly stepped forward; his cold yet enchanting features becoming clearer to the Kunoichi. "Do as you wish." and then Orochimaru was gone, the door shutting behind him as he swiftly made his way out. The air in the room was tense, Uren found that she couldn't rip her eyes away from the Uchiha before her. 'What do I do?' she questioned frantically in her head 'Can I take Sasuke on in one on one combat?' The answer would soon become apparent to the girl as Sasuke slowly pulled his sword out from its sheath.

Uren let out a yelp of pain as, once again, Sasuke's sword hit her body. This time he struck her shoulder making it painful for the girl to move her arms. It was almost pointless for Uren to attack though. Sasuke's Sharingan ensured that he was always one step ahead of her. Uren finally understood why Orochimaru desired this boy's body so. Sasuke stepped back, swinging his sword languidly as he waited for another one of Uren's fruitless assaults. The girl was peppered with cuts and bruises. Her face was cut and one of her eyes had swollen, her lip, too, was cut; blood occasionally trickling down from it. A large slash adorned her stomach and this was accompanied by hundreds of small slices upon her arms and legs. Sasuke was brutal and Uren understood why Orochimaru had decided that sparring with the Uchiha was a worthy punishment for her. Even so...Uren couldn't help but feel he was holding back. The girl had seen plenty of people exit Sasuke's room on stretchers...or worse...not exit at all. Perhaps Orochimaru had instructed him not to kill her? Or perhaps the agony of staying alive and dealing with the injuries was to be her punishment? Hundreds of fragmented crystals lay upon the ground, crushed underfoot by the two ninja. Uren may have been severely injured -and waning on Chakra- but she was not one to back down. Never was she one to back down. So, again, the girl moved forwards; forming a crystal in her hands she shot it outwards, aiming for Sasuke's bare torso. Sasuke ducked and then quickly -so quickly that Uren could barely register it- he brought his free hand up to jab her in her toned stomach. This movement winded the girl and sent her spinning backwards, Sasuke followed; his hands around her throat as he drove her into the wall behind. Uren let out a screech of agony as her head clunked against the hard stone behind her, blood began trickling free; making pathways through her hair and down her neck, seeping into her pale skin. Sasuke held her there for a while, his eyes searching her face. Her own eyes were shut, closed tight as she tried to regain control even with his hand around her throat; choking the life out of her. Uren's pale skin began to become paler, and paler still; she began slumping. Just as she felt her consciousness slipping away from her; Sasuke let go. Surprised, Uren opened her eyes, only to see Sasuke looking at her with a look of contempt and...something else within his eyes...respect? Uren couldn't be sure because he suddenly poofed away. Uren sat there, blood tricking from hundreds of cuts adorning her body, rubbing at her throat and coughing occasionally. 'What a pitiful sight I must be' she though contemporaneously to herself 'What must Sasuke think of me?' Uren let out a retching sound and then glowered as her reflection was shown to her in one of the many crystals littering the floor. 'Why do I care what that fool thinks of me?' she snarled in her head. A sudden noise raised the girl's head; and she looked up to see Karin gazing at her; a look slight annoyance on her face. The red-head girl also looked surprised though. Surprised that Uren was still breathing...was still conscious.

The red head pushed her glasses up and rolled her eyes eventually. "I have no idea why he didn't gut you like a fish and from the look on your face neither do you. Can you stand up?" Uren's green eyes fixed themselves on Karin's red ones. "Don't need hel-" Uren spluttered and coughed mid sentence and Karin glared at her. "For goodness sake... here, bite." Karin bent down and thrust her wrist at Uren who was only just concious. "Hurry up," Karin instructed, "You're acctually more fucked up than Ai right now." she winced as Uren bit down into the flesh of her wrist drawing her chakra into her body, her cuts began to close up and heal. "I'm gonna feel like crap after this..." Karin moaned as Uren continued to use her chakra to heal herself. The red head couldn't help but feel sorry for Uren, though known for her love of torture, Karin didn't really feel Uren had deserved such a violent punishment, what was Orochimaru thinking? "Right thats enough, Uren, Uren you moron enough!" she forcably pulled her wrist back and stormed out, leaving Uren to rest in the darkness of the room, of her mind. 


	7. Chapter 7

Ai's swollen little eyes began to painfully blink open, thank goodness the room was shrouded in darkness. There was a dim flickering light to her right and an intense aching carried on silently all down her left side "Shit Uren's gonna be so pissed at me, oh my God Lord Orochimaru is not going to be impressed at all... Shit...What the fuck happened anyway?" Ai's eyes opened fully and she looked to her right to where the light resonated, slightly startled to find that a figure was perched gently by the edge of the bed. "Uren?" Ai grumbled, she could barely speak, pain gripped her vocal chords. "What the fuck did that boy hit me with?" Her attention was quickly pulled to the soft chuckle from the figure next to her. "That sounds like...!"  
>"Ai, come by my quarters when you wake up, I've got more experiments that need results. Well done for pulling through." It was unmistakably Orochimaru's smooth voice that resounded in her ears. She began to wonder how long he had actually been sat there, had been waiting for her to wake up? Her cheeks began to blush despite her condition. "This is stupid, you are an idiot Ai as if he's been sitting there for however long you've been out for... Get a grip! Where the hell is Uren anyway?" The graceful figure shifted from the light and slinked away into the darkness, "Oh, don't leave..." Ai thought as his presence disappeared from the room. Ai felt terrible, she was alone now and in a ridiculous amount of pain, but it wasn't that which made her feel uneasy. Where was her partner?<br>"Uren's a cold bitch, but she wouldn't not be here... did somthing happen?" there was a sudden rumble outside the room.

"Don't go in there Suigetsu! She's not ready to be seen yet! Are you listening to me?" "Would you shut up you ginger moron? She's my comrade!"  
>"I don't care if she's your mother! You aren't going in there!"<br>"Oh yeah? Just fucking watch me!"

There were noises that sounded like the pair outside where tackling each other.  
>"Ow! Did you actually just bite me you whore?"<br>"How dare you! Me? a whore?"  
>"That's what it looks like when Sasuke's around!"<br>"You're just jealous it's not you I'm after!"  
>"More like grateful!"<br>"Why you!"  
>Ai smiled (as much as she could) at the pair arguing outside, there was no doubt it was Suigetsu and Karin. The door opened abruptly and her old teammate strolled in and she sensed his face drop at the sight of her. "I can't look that fucked up..." "Ai, you holding up ok?" Suigetsu asked as he replaced Orochimaru at the side of her bed. Ai managed a weak yes as Karin entered the room and stood opposite Suigetsu, the other side of her bed. "Don't make her talk." Karin instructed firmly and Suigetsu glared at her. "Fine, but I'm not leaving until she can talk." Karin turned from the two and headed towards the door. "Fine, probably best as Uren definitely isn't in any shape to even keep herself company." Suigetsu's face became somewhat melancholy as the red head made her exit. "What the fuck has happened to Uren?" Ai mentally screamed, she pleaded with her eyes, Suigetsu had to tell her what he knew.<p>

"Well according to Karin," the mist ninja's face acctually screwed up at the red-head's name. (Something Ai would have laughed at if she were not so worried about her team mates whereabouts.) "Uren's in a pretty bad way...Orochimaru was freaking pissed at her, so he..." Suigetsu trailed off and gazed at Ai imploringly; clearly wishing she would just fill in the gaps or just drop it. "So he...what?" Ai's chest felt tight with fear. "Where's Uren?" "Orochimaru made her fight Sasuke." Suigetsu finished, his deep purple eyes took in the shift in Ai's mood immediately. A grin overtook her face, but it wasn't real. She was trying to deny the bad thoughts that had popped into her head. "So what?" she laughed slightly, but then had to stop due to her chest hurting, she grabbed at her torso and then glanced up -tears in her eyes due to the pain- "She'd love that." "Ai," Suigetsu reached out a tentative hand, being unusually caring for once. "Sasuke mashed her up something good." ...or not. "What?" Ai's eyes widened in shock. "Why would he do that?" "She failed Orochimaru." Karin answered as she reappeared into the room, bringing some more medicine with her. "But so did I!" Ai retorted indignantly, hardly able to believe that Orochimaru would do something like that to Uren...that Sasuke would do something like that. It seemed that perhaps the reality of what the people around her were actually like had dawned on the Kunoichi. Even so...whenever she thought of Orochimaru, that same tight feeling still remained...and the butterflies never left her stomach. Ai couldn't help but feel sick at herself. Would Uren ever forgive her if she stayed devoted to their master? Karin went to reply to the green-haired girl but she was interrupted by Uren herself, who staggered into the room, banging the door open loudly. "No you didn't Ai," she said quietly. Karin nodded at Suigetsu, implying they should leave. Suigetsu made a face at her and shook his head, but eventually was dragged out by the red-head. Ai smiled slightly as she heard them begin fighting outside. The smile immediately slipped from her face, however, once her pale blue eyes came to a rest on Uren and her terrible condition. Her partner had obviously had opportunity to heal, from her beating, but not completely; there were still scars littering her body and Uren's left eye was still crusted with blood. Ai's heart nearly broke in her chest as she took in her best friend's appearance. "You tried to protect me," Uren continued, ignoring the horrified look that had taken over Ai's face. "You did protect me. For once I agree with Orochimaru; I deserved punishment," Uren bit her lip and ran a hand through her hair as she looked away. "I failed you." her voice cracked and a small tear made it's way down the beautiful's girl's cheek, melting in with the blood on her face and dripping away. Ai stared at her -usually so strong- team mate in horror. How had she failed her? Ai had just done what she always did; jumped in recklessly. She'd done it a thousand times before and she was most likely going to do it again. "Hey," Ai murmured softly, she reached out a throbbing hand to Uren and Uren took it, though she refused to look at her partner she looked shamed...even humiliated; something that Ai hated seeing on her partner's usually strong face. "Hey it's not your fault..." Ai paused and then tried to grin, showing that one of her teeth had been knocked clear from her mouth, she winced and closed her mouth. "It's that bloody orange bastard's fault remember?" she tried to laugh, but again, it hurt too much. Uren let out a small giggle, but there was no heart in it, she still looked sad. Ai frowned. "Smile!" she instructed as forcefully as she could. Uren looked up at her, one of her eyes shadowed by her fringe. "I don't smile." she returned. Ai tutted loudly and then, with some effort, brought her hands up to her mouth. "Smile or I may die in this bed right now." she gestured at her mouth in a happy fashion. "Ugh." Uren groaned slightly before attempting a smile. Ai clapped. "See? Gorgeous! Now, I need to get up," the smaller Kunoichi began attempting to get out of bed, but Uren restrained her; gazing at her cautiously. "What are you doing?" she enquired. "You need rest." "I'm heeeaaaled," Ai whined, pushing against the stronger girl's grip. "And anyway I have places to go Uchiha's to beat up." Uren's face dropped. "Leave it Ai," she murmured, her tone becoming dark. "Don't go near him." the girl's heart clenched as she remembered Sasuke's eyes at the end of the battle...Uren despised herself for losing, but she despised herself even more for still feeling an interest in Sasuke. She had learnt all she had to about him: He was a cold, emotionless bastard...well, that was what Uren was going to keep telling herself.  
>"Fine then," Ai sighed. "Whatever...But I do actually need to get going; Lord Orochimaru wants me." If only Ai could tell herself that about Orochimaru. Uren sighed. "I don't think that's wise." she said. Ai shrugged and then cast a sly grin at her. "Nobody ever said I was wise!" Uren just continued to glare at her until she finally submitted and rolled her eyes. "Okay FINE." she huffed and sunk deeper into the pillows supporting her weak body. "I'll go see him when I get out of bed in a day or so." Uren smiled in agreement and yawned. Ai frowned at her, "You should get some rest to ya know, I'll come find you after I see Orochimaru ok?" Uren went to protest but found herself to exhausted, so instead nodded and dragged herself from the room.<p>

Ai appeared in her Master's quarters and a grin spread across her face as soon as she laid eyes on Orochimaru's slender profile. "Eager aren't we?" he remarked smoothly, his back still turned to her, he seemed to be working on something. Ai beamed and skipped over to her master and tugged at his shirt lightly, suddenly aware her actions might not be entirely appropriate. To her surprise he turned to her and smiled, a strong hand gently ruffled the green hair atop her head and she blushed profusely. "Here, drink this." he handed her a vile and she took it without hesitation, she was foolish not to question what was in the drugs he constantly pumped into her, she couldn't care less however. Ai suddenly felt dizzy, and fell forward slightly, only to find Orochimaru had caught her gracefully and was no peering into the blue eyes. "Umn.." she managed to stifle her speech before she said anything silly. "I think I made the dose to strong, besides, there are still pain killers in your system. How do you feel?" he questioned, still examining her closely. Ai batted her eyelashes flirtatiously and decided to take a risky advantage here. "A little faint, ahh" she swooned and put her gentle weight on her master, she was almost hugging him. Orochimaru smirked and held her in their awkward but perfectly justified embrace. "Are you sure you aren't just trying to take advantage of me?" his tongue danced around his lips as he hissed. "N-no, of course not, Lord Orochimaru..." she trailed off and chewed at her lip. "You re lying, your heart rate just went up," he laughed lightly and pushed her up. It was true her heart was racing and the butterflies beat their wings rapidly against the walls of her stomach. Perhaps Uren was right in saying it was a little soon but if she hadn't seen him she never would have gotten to practically hug him. "Now behave yourself, I need to examine the results..." Ai giggled and stood up straight, "Ok!" she beamed. The door suddenly flew open and in the door way stood Sasuke Uchiha, his body littered with tiny little cuts, which didn't seem to cause him pain. Kabuto stepped in behind him and started apologizing to Orochimaru for their abrupt entrance. The snake lord silenced his best subordinate with a hand gesture which Ai mischievously giggled at. Sasuke's eyes were immersed in darkness, he glared at Orochimaru. There was a moments silence before Sasuke spoke, his voice restraining anger. "Why did you ask me to do that?" Kabuto raised an eyebrow then smirked. Ai glanced nervously between the three. 'What the fuck is going on here?' She thought, a little annoyed at having her precious "Orochimaru time" interrupted. The snake sannin folded his arms and leaned against the table behind him. "Hmn." Orochimaru responded, he looked away from Sasuke's vicious glare. "You're lucky I didn't kill her, you would have lost a valuable asset, that was careless." Orochimaru looked up in utter surprise, then started laughing. Kabuto pushed his glasses up and chuckled lightly as well. "I'm lucky?" the snake sannin hissed and advanced towards the Uchiha until he was right up in his face. "She is... valuable I guess..." Sasuke didn't falter, his simply continued. "She needs training, don't give me such weak training targets I won't advance from them." with that he turned from his master and started to leave the room. "I'll leave that to you if you like?" Orochimaru offered, smirk playing on his lips. Sasuke didn't answer him and stormed out, Kabuto followed. The snake lord sighed and turned back to Ai, brushing a hair from her face he gazed into her eyes. "Now where were we?" Ai gulped, she wished the butterflies would go kill themselves. 


	8. Chapter 8

Uren turned in her bed and then flinched as her injuries reacted. Though healed, thanks to Karin, she still felt the pain resonating from her scars...and she still flinched from the emotional scars she'd endured too. Ai too, apparently was still hurting or that was how it appeared to Uren when her partner staggered into her room. "Ai?" she edged up, wondering at the reasoning behind Ai's sudden decline in health. Though she had seemed in pain earlier on she had been moving well enough; now she seemed even worse than before. "Ai what's happened?" the girl's eyes hardened. "Was it Orochimaru? What has he done to you?" there was threat within Uren's voice...though the girl could do nothing against their master. Uren wanted to feel in control again and threatening to punch their master was a good way to start.  
>Ai didn't reply to her partner's enquires, however, and, instead, fell onto her bed with a loud sigh. "Lord Orochimaru hasn't done 'anything' to me," she explained tiredly, her head felt groggy and the unpleasant mixture of painkillers and whatever it was that Orochimaru made her drink was settling uneasily in her stomach; she wasn't in the mood for Uren and her suspicions about her Lord. "He just gave me a few drinks..." "He experimented on you, you mean," Uren replied coldly, she moved closer to Ai, pulling down her eyelids and examining her. "Ai why do you allow him to do this? You do realise he experiments on you more than any of the others?" "Really?" Ai's mouth stretched into a grin and she reached out to pat Uren. "Maybe that means I'm important to him!" she exclaimed happily. Uren's lips formed a grim line etched upon her pale face before she replied. "Or it's because you're the most willing." she suggested icily. Ai's face dropped and she glowered at the girl before her. "Why does it have to be something like that?" she demanded, sitting up with effort. "Why can't it just be beca-"<br>"Because I know Orochimaru," Uren cut in angrily; her voice quiet as she fumed. Why couldn't Ai understand that Orochimaru was evil? That he would throw her aside without a seconds thought? What had he done to her to convince her otherwise? "Ai, you're just his easiest guinea pig; no fuss, no whining. You just sit there allowing him to do all sorts of stuff!" "You're just bitter." Ai retorted before burying her face into the mattress she lay upon. "Bitter?" Uren repeated, feeling a coldness take over her as she realised that, perhaps, this argument was about to take a more serious tone. "Bitter about what?" Ai didn't reply for a few moments, but eventually she raised her head. "You're just bitter because Lord Orochimaru shows me attention," she stated, her voice growing with speed and vigor as she continued. "You're just bitter because Sasuke Uchiha won't look at you as anything other than a weak, generic subordinate of Lord Orochimaru's!" A horrid silence descended between the two as soon as the words were out of Ai's mouth. Uren didn't look at her, opting to keep her eyes at the ground. What Ai had said wasn't true, Uren knew that. The taller Kunoichi was just trying to protect Ai from the eventual hurt she was going to face, but some of the mist ninja's furious words had hit home. Did Sasuke really look upon her as another generic person? Just thrown in to be used for training? Uren couldn't accept that...she didn't know why but she had attached some sort of significance with the fact that Sasuke hadn't knocked her out. He had held back...but why? He wasn't known for his mercy...  
>Ai had clearly taken Uren's silence as hurt and so she immediately launched into an apology. "Uren?" she murmured, she edged forward slightly. "Uren, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that," she bit her lip and raised a hand slightly. "I'm just tired...and I think all the drugs are making me moody. Uren?" Uren sighed heavily, pushing the thought of Sasuke and his mercy to the back of her mind. "It's ok," she turned and cast Ai a rare smile as she ran a hand through her long hair. "I know you didn't mean it. But please heed my warning Ai..." the Kunoichi stared deeply into the other's eyes, trying to make her understand the seriousness of what she was saying. "I'm only saying it as a friend; I just want to protect you. Don't place your undying trust in Orochimaru, you'll only get hurt." Ai pouted as she stared back at friend, but then sighed and toyed with the fringe of her dress. "Ok," she said moodily. "Alright..." She didn't mean it, Uren could tell, but as long as the seed of doubt was in her mind perhaps Uren could save the girl. Uren gazed at her for a few minutes and then opened her mouth. "Why didn't Sasuke kill me...?" it was out before she could stop it; Ai's head snapped up and Uren immediately began regretting talking. This was why she didn't have friends dammit! "I can think of a few reasons." Ai purred before winking suggestively. Uren narrowed her eyes. 'This is going to be hell.' she thought. "Don't even think about saying what I think you are thinking about saying." Uren said quickly and flatly. Ai laughed at her partners embarrassment and smiled. "I reckon he likes you," she winked again and Uren rolled her eyes but the words shook her inside. "Impossible," she muttered and folded her arms, looking away from Ai. "Well..." the mist ninja chewed on her thumb in between words. "Something weird happened when I was with Lord Orochimaru earlier," Uren pretended not to be interested, Ai sensed her pretense and continued. "Well that Uchiha boy randomly busted into Orochimaru's lab and had a go at him!" Uren raised her eyebrow. "Really? What about?" Uren unfolded her arms. Ai grinned, as her partner showed interest suddenly. You. Ai finished as enjoyed her friend s facial reaction. What? What do you mean me? What! she was shocked, why on earth would Sasuke even mention her? To anyone? Ever? Ai started laughing only to be shaken roughly by Uren. "Well? What happened then!" Ai frowned at her partner and cleared her throat. "He was having a go at Orochimaru for giving him a weak target, so Orochimaru implied he should train you up as he decided he didn't want to kill you. Which seemed to surprise everyone by the way." Uren glared at her partner "You're kidding me right?" Ai cackled with laughter and grinned. "Yep! Orochimaru didn't tell him not to kill you, he made that decision alone." Uren went a shade of scarlet. "That doesn't mean anything at all, he's probably just saving me for later or somthihg... " Ai winked at her comrade and replied "Yeah, I agree, saving you for later!" she squeeled as Uren proceeded to whack her to death with her pillow. <div> 


	9. Chapter 9

Uren sat with her back resting against the sharp, wire fence surrounding the training area she currently inhabited.. She had a pensive look on her face a clear contrast with the bubbly, squealing girl next to her. "Ooh did he just look your way?" Uren sighed heavily, her eyes still looking down at the piece of crystal she was forming in her hand. "No Ai." she disregarded. "How would you know? You're not even looking!" Ai shot back defensively. "And besides why do you look so moody? You're the one that wanted to come down here and oggle at him!" This got a reaction. Uren's pale skin flushed bright pink and she shot up, turning on Ai, a horrified, embarrassed, defensive...and guilty look on her face. "I did not come down here to 'oggle' him!" she protested. "We came down here to train and he just so happened to be here." Yes, Sasuke Uchiha was also there on the training grounds. Uren had woken Ai up early (after the mist ninja had crashed in her room, immune to Uren's cries of: 'Get the fuck out of my room Ai!', 'Oh my God you could sleep through an earthquake!', 'Aiiiiii stop stealing my covers.') and they had descended -Ai grumbling at the time- down to the training field. The last thing the girls had been expecting to see at 6am in the morning was Sasuke Uchiha training, by himself, in the field, but there he was; in all his glory and Uren had turned immediately red. They had trained for a while, but eventually Ai's whines of wanting a break had annoyed Uren so much that she had relented, and now they were sitting watching Sasuke training. The boy hadn't even glanced at them since they first came down and Uren was feeling the urge to hurl a crystal at his back. "Don't do it." Uren turned -she had suddenly found herself lost in Sasuke's rhythmic movements- to see Ai looking at her with one raised brow. "What?" she questioned, perplexed. "You've got your: 'I'm going to hurl a crystal at your back' look on you're face," Ai explained. "Don't do it." "I do not have a: 'I'm going to hurl a crystal at your back' look." Uren returned with quiet indignation. "Well then how do I know it?" Ai returned smugly. Uren opened her mouth and then shut it; trying to think of decent reply. Ai didn't give her a chance however as she turned back to look at Sasuke and then squealed quietly. "Ooh he's taking his top off!" she announced. Uren tried to resist, honestly she did, but her eyes were drawn to the boy and, sure enough, he had just taken his top off. "Okay," Uren relented "Now I'm oggling." The girl hated to admit it, but Sasuke Uchiha was a fine specimen to look at. Her eyes scanned down his pale, muscular frame that glistened with a light sweat; the result of his intensive training. The early morning sun cast rays down upon him; making the spikes of his hair look touchably soft and making his body gleam. Uren doubted she would ever get over how beautifully his dark eyes contrasted with the pale, alabaster of his skin. "Okay, bye Uren!" Uren looked up in confusion only to see Ai standing on the otherside of the fence, a large -knowing- grin on her face. "Ai what are you doing?" Uren quizzed furiously, her eyes darting back between the epic man-candy before her and her best friend. Ai just smirked smugly and did a little twirl. "I'm off to find Lord Orochimaru," her pale blue eyes flickered to Sasuke and then back to her partner. "Have fuuuuun." she called and then she set off running, leaving Uren in a field with Sasuke...Sasuke Uchiha who beat her to a pulp once; but didn't kill her, apparently shouted at Orochimaru about it, and who was now shirtless within a few metres from her. Uren gulped. and gripped the cold chain link fence behind her as her sense of security disappeared with Ai. 'Pull yourself together woman!' She mentally screamed at herself. She decided instead of standing there like a stalker, she would go and focus on something a lot more important to her. Resarch on her sister, she still hadn't forgotten the shinobi who had attacked them near the boarder of the Land of Fire. They had mentioned fighting a crystal style user, she stalked off determined to find out what happened, until... "Uren," she stopped cold in her tracks as the harsh yet graceful voice of the Uchiha called out to her. She turned her head slightly and glanced back at him, the emerald green of her eyes glistened in the sun. The boy then quickly tilted his head up, gesturing her to come to him. Uren gulped, 'You've got to be kidding me right?' She made her way over to him, desperately trying to slow her heart rate.  
> <div> 


	10. Chapter 10

Ai appeared back in the lair giggling to herself as she made her way around it's maze like corridors. Despite the drugs that her master had been pumping into her, Ai couldn't remember being this happy, her life to date had been some what of a struggle and she felt secure knowing she had a place to call home now. More importantly she had good friends that did their best to support her, though she usually disregarded them and did her own thing anyway; she was grateful. She finally reached her master's quaters and tapped on the door, she was bubbling with excitement. There was a subtle hiss followed by permission to enter, the little mist ninja quietly padded in, closing the door behind her. She looked up to greet her master happily but gasped in surprise instead when she found he was just inches from her face. "Umn..." she started, turned a vibrant shade of scarlet. She bit her lip anxiously as a smirk played on Orochimaru's lips. His golden eyes glistened in the low light of the room. "What's wrong Ai? You look a little... flustered..." his smirk became even more apparent if that were possible. Ai had forgotten how to speak and instead squeaked in reply. Orochimaru chuckled and brushed a fine piece of green hair from Ai's flushed face, watching her full lashes beat sweetly against her cheek as she blinked at him. He drew even closer to her, pushing her back again the wall, to which he received another excitable squeaking. "What's the matter, are you scared of me? Ai?" he grinned at her, it became apparent he was enjoying what he was doing. Ai tried to force her eyes off of his, but she couldn't. "N-not exactly... Lord Orochimaru" she got out and began chewing her lip even more furiously than before. He straightened up slighty and folded his arms, "Well, you'd best explain yourself," he spoke playfully, "Or will I have to experiment on your further?"  
>' Is he... implying something?' Ai thought as she frowned back at him, though it didn't last long. The sensual beauty of his slender features and silken hair intoxicated her mind. After a moments silence he sighed, but a smile remained with him. "Guess, it's to be the latter," he turned from her and walked back over to his chemistry set and began working on something. Ai raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The snake sannin turned back towards her slightly, "Come here, I have something for you..." Ai blinked and after a few moments of silence got her head together and she joined her master on the other side of the room. She stood a little closer to him this time, it was like she had gained confidence around him since before. He turned to her and triumphantly flicked the end of a rather large syringe, he grinned at her. "Um... Lord Orochimaru..." Ai got out, she was quite terrified of what his plans were. However he ignored her and took hold of her left arm, the little ninja gulped. His tongue snaked over his lips as he pressed down slightly, looking for a prominent vein. Ai blushed at his touch, his hand was incredibly soft but at the same time his grip was still forceful. She chewed her lip nervously, 'What is that he's going to inject into me?' she couldn't bring herself to ask him however. She was suddenly taken aback by his gaze flickering to hers. "Do you trust me?" he hissed subtly and licked his lips. Ai gulped but answered almost immediately. "Yes," she said almost feverishly. Orochimaru smirked placing the needle of the syringe close to the join in Ai's small arm. "Good," he whispered as he pressed down and the needle broke through the pale skin of the mist ninja. "Mn!" Ai let out as she felt the needle go in and clamped her eyes shut, gritting her teeth. Her master held her arm firm as he pushed down on the syringe top and the solution was pumped into Ai's blood stream. Ai's eyes snapped open as the solution hit her blood stream, it burned through her veins as though it were setting them on fire. She couldn't help but yelp in pain as he was pushing it through so slowly only half the liquid had disappeared from within the glass of the needle. She began tearing slightly, her teeth clamped together. "Easy Ai," Orochimaru said smoothly, he took one of his hands from her arm and wiped some moisture away from her eye with his thumb. He smiled at her as he pushed the rest of the drug through her vein. Ai gulped, she felt like the circulatory system was burning from the inside out. Something flickered in those golden eyes as Ai's eyes finally gave way to the pain and started streaming. It couldn't have been concern, could it? Ai began to feel her eyelids give way as she began to feel sleepy, she was slipping from consciousness, but the firey burning pain throughout her body kept her somewhat awake. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes in concentration and grabbed cotton wool from his worktop. He pressed it to Ai's gentle arm as he swiftly pulled the syringe out, laced with Ai's crimson blood. He threw it down and took his hand straight back to Ai's face, aware she was slipping from consciousness. With his other hand he held her would closed, though blood began to soak through the cotton he'd pressed to it. "Ai," he whispered gently, she fell weak in his arms, he was holding her up right with his one arm. "I-I'm s-sorry...L-lord Orochima-" Ai tried to apologise, but he silenced her with a smile. "It's perfectly fine, I'll explain when you wake up." with that the girl fell limp and a smirk slid across the snake sannins lips. <div> 


	11. Chapter 11

The walk from the fence to Sasuke seemed almost eternal, though of course it only took a few seconds. Uren was determined not to be humiliated again; keeping her cool, green eyes fixated on Sasuke, her chin up. Sasuke, himself, was looking up at the sky, no emotion obvious within his gaze. Eventually Uren stopped in front of him and the Uchiha brought his eyes down to greet hers; sending a thrill up her body. There was a small silence which Uren eventually broke. "What?" her voice was harsh, her stance tensed; as if ready to avoid an attack. Sasuke hid a small smirk as he replied. "You need training," he explained steadily, no humour in his tone. "You were too easy of an opponent." Uren stalled; the boy had just called her over so that he could insult her? A burning rage began building within the girl. "Is that so?" she replied smoothly; only her glinting eyes betrayed any anger. "Well, thank you for that useless piece of information-" Sasuke shook his head, cutting off the girl's train of speech. "It's your stance," he explained. "You make it too obvious that you're about to attack." Uren's eyebrow's lowered as each word came out of his mouth, in that stupid, slow, steady tone of his. "It is not obvious," she returned rudely; a glower present on her face. "I'm leaving. You've had your fun," the Kunoichi went to leave, but Sasuke was too quick; his hand wrapped around her wrist firmly. A shock of electricity, due to his touch, raced through Uren. Blushing hard, she turned to look at him. "What do you want?" she snapped icily, shaking her wrist so as to free herself, Sasuke's grip was unrelenting however, and so she stayed trapped. "Work on your stance," he replied, Uren opened her mouth ready to swear at him, but then he presented a heart shaped crystal to her...one of her crystals. "And stop letting your anger get the better of you," he continued before glancing down at the crystal. "At least in battles." Uren stared at the crystal, outstanded, when had she made that? And how had he got a hold of it? "Whu...?" her confused eyes flickered from the crystal and up to Sasuke, and she was surprised to see he was examining her; his eyes scanning her face with what appeared to be mild interest. Growling due to embarrassment, anger and confusion; Uren shook her wrist again. Sasuke freed her finally and then tucked the crystal away into his pocket. A little perplexed as to why he would wish to keep it, Uren opened her mouth, but then thought better and closed it again. Whipping around, the girl strode off, with Sasuke's eyes upon her all the way. 'I don't think I've hated anyone more than I hate him...' She thought, 'and is he STILL looking at me? Where on earth did he get one of MY crystals and in that shape! Sharingan can't copy the crystal jutsu...' She trailed off into more elongated thought as she kicked open one of the lairs many doors seething into the darkness within. She strode along with balled fists until she reached her room and swiftly made for her sisters journal and began flicking through the pages. 'Stance, stance, stance...' She thought, desperately serching for her sisters notes on battle training with Orochimaru. 


	12. Chapter 12

She reached her room and tore open the journal. 'Who does that idiot think he is anyway? Telling me I need to work on my stance! Ha! Well he needs to work on his... His...' Her thoughts were inturrupted by a huge crash from outside. This distracted Uren from her sister's journal. With a start, the girl's head snapped up and her eyes focused on the door. Just as she got up to approach it, Ai's voice sounded. "Why the fuck are you carrying me you limp-dick fuck-head!" she roared. Uren couldn't help the small smirk that played across her lips as she realised the identity of the respondent. "Lord Orochimaru instructed me to carry you back to your-" Ai didn't allow Orochimaru's right-hand man to finish, as she launched into a tirade of swear words. "Get your hands off of me you fucking, fuckity fuck!" she yelled, and another crash sounded. "Bastard!" she continued. Stifling a laugh, Uren opened the door to a scene of utter hilariousness; Kabuto was holding onto a woozy looking Ai, who was trying to batter him, despite her obvious low grasp on consciousness. The man -currently being attacked by a mental, green haired Kunoichi- turned to look at the new arrival with a look of hopelessness. "She passed out due to the medication and Lord Orochimaru instructed me to carry her back." he explained, dodging another flying punch from the crazy mist ninja. Uren smirk widened and she stepped forward languidly -she was in no rush to spare Kabuto from the beating he was receiving- into Ai's eyeline. "Ai, c'mon, I think I have some water in my room." she offered. Ai's hands dropped immediately and she began pushing her way out of Kabuto's grasp. Kabuto let her go, an annoyed sigh dispatching from his lips. "She needs to rest," he remarked irritably. "Not hang around and have 'girly chats'." Uren glowered at him. "Then we won't have 'girly chats'," she returned icily. "We'll just talk about how much torturing you would delight us." Kabuto sighed at her impudence, but left it, choosing to retreat back to his master. Uren glared after him and then turned her attention back to Ai, who was swaying slightly on her dainty feet. 'Experiments again?' Uren wondered, concern trickling upon her face as she took in her best friend's stature and expression. 'When will they end?' The Girl looked over Ai's head, in the direction Kabuto had just left in. What does he want with Ai? "You said you had water?" At the sound of Ai's hopeful tone, Uren looked back down, allowing a smile to grace her lips. "That's right," she agreed, guiding the mist ninja into her room. Uren guided Ai to her bed and sat her down before walking over to the other side of the room and pouring her comrade a glass of water from a jug she kept there. "Here..." she said softly as she handed Ai a crystal glass. The little ninja smiled and guzzled the water while her friend eyed her suspiciously. "What the hell has he been doing to you anyway?" Ai frowned into her glass, "I don't know... He said he'd explain when I woke up - guess he got busy or something..." The green haired girl sighed then placed her glass on the table beside the bed and began to chew her thumb. "If you are going to allow these experiments to continue, at least get him to tell you what the fuck he's actually doing, ok?" Uren said roughly she folded her arms and looked away, why did her master have to be this way? She was really beginning to become disloyal towards him. Sasuke said he didn't trust him... Man this whole place is fucked up. How could my sister have fallen into this kind of mess? Ai suddenly grinned and looked up at Uren. The pale blue of her eyes sparkled with excitement. "So..." she began, giggling. "What happened with Mr. Shirtless?" Uren's eye twitched as she flushed a brilliant pink. "N-nothing..." the girl hid behind her jet black hair.. "He's just a prick." Ai laughed then pouted at the crystal user. "Awwww come on! Something must have happened!" Uren sighed and told her the details of yet another high tension clash with the Uchiha and all the embarrassment that came with it. Ai frowned in confusion, "A heart shaped crystal? Maybe you made it subconsciously and threw it at him during battle?" Uren shrugged, "I have no idea, but it's definitely one of mine, funny thing is he kept it. I mean why would you keep something like that?" Ai flashed anther prize grin with her sharp teeth. "Because he lurrrrvvveess you!" The mist kunochi burst out laughed as Uren shot her a look of death, there was suddenly a knock on the door. Ai stopped laughing. "Who's there?" Uren called, she hated people being near her room let alone in it. "It's Karin, I want to have a word with you, Uren." The slender ninja narrowed her eyes. "Come in then." The pretty red head opened the door and stepped in, she pushed up her glasses. "I'm just gonna get straight to the point here - Sasuke says to meet him in the large training room in 5 minutes." Uren's eyes widened in disbelief, then anger took over her delicate features. However Karin continued before she could interject. "Now, please keep your hands to yourself, I've been here longer than you, it's my official right to-" Uren raised an eyebrow. "Karin, what on earth are you talking about?" The girl suddenly got very angry. "You know damn well what I'm talking about! You keep your hands to yourself! He's MINE. No idea why he would want anything to do with someone who looks as plain and boring as you anyway!" With that the kunochi pushed up her glasses and viciously exited the room, leaving the two girls dumbfounded. "Told you Sasuke likes you." said Ai bluntly and with a straight face. "Oh shut up, I have no idea what this is about anyway." Ai raised her eyebrows. "Sure..."  
>"And I am not plain and borring! Am I?" Uren suddenly looked upset and began chewing her thumb nail nervously. She rushed over to her mirror and feverishly began combing her hair. Ai rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you? You look fine! You think he'd wanna see you if you looked ugly?" Uren stopped and frowned at her reflection. "I'm an idiot. It's just training, or whatever." with that she stalked out of the room. "Fucking Karin," Ai hissed and sat back down on Uren's bed. She was the only one Uren trusted in her room. She finished her water and got up again and decided to go find Suigetsu, she was sure he had lots of negative things to say about Karin to make her feel better.<p>"Yeah she's a nasty piece of work," Suigetsu commented and grinned at his former teammate. "I miss having you as a partner, you're a lot more fun than tha whiny bitch!" Ai laughed and playfully punched him in the arm her blue eyes sparkled. "Yeah she's been a dick to Uren just cause Sasuke volunteered to train her or something." Suigetsu's eyes widened - "Sasuke volunteered to train Uren? As in... Orochimaru didn't force him?" Ai raised an eyebrow at her fellow mist ninja. "Yeah, funny right?" Suigetsu smirked and folded his arms. "Guess Mr. Invincible has a soft spot for someone after all! This makes me very happy, since Karin is obsessed with him, she's gonna go mental!" The pair of them laughed. "Really? She's that into him huh?" Ai replied. "Yep, he's all she ever goes on about and she like, stalks him. I'm telling you it's pretty damn creepy!" Ai looked at her friend in disbelief then laughed. "Damn, no wonder she tried to kill Uren's self esteem." Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me exactly what happend..." Ai grinned and sat down next to her former partner.. "Well, she told Uren Sasuke wanted to see her then started sayin-" Suigetsu cut her off. "He's mine!" he imitated the red head's voice badly and Ai laughed hysterically. "Y-yeah!" she spluttered through her giggling. "Just like that!" Suigetsu grinned but the took a serious tone. "Are you sure you are up to handling Orochimaru's experiments? I heard you fainted the other day..." Ai stopped laughing and rolled her eyes. "Everything is fine Sui and I am more than capable of handling Lord Orochimaru's experiments." Suigetsu wasn't convinced however and attempted to warn her about the nature of her master, just had everyone else had done. All Ai did was disagree, she was now becoming more devoted to her master than ever. This was a worrying turn of events for those who cared about her. "You know everyone is worried about you right? Well, I am and I know Uren is." Suigetsu continued, taking a swig from his water bottle. Ai frowned at him. "I got rid of my parents for a reason, Sui! No one need worry about me!" The white haired boy rolled his eyes and gave up. "Whatever you say!" Ai grinned and punched him in the arm again to which he responded with a frown. "I wonder how Uren is getting on... Maybe we should go spy on them!" Ai exclaimed then laughed. Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "She's with Sasuke now?" Ai giggled, "Yeah" Ai grinned and then chewed on her lip. "Sasuke would sense us a mile off, besides, Karin's probably beaten us to it." The pair laughed then stayed silent a while, enjoying the harmony of each other's company. Suigetsu eyed his friend curiously and decided to confront her. "You like him don't you?" Ai raised her eyebrow, "Orochimaru, you like him. That's why Uren's so worried." Ai blushed and folded her arms. "So what if I did?" she snapped back at him and Suigetsu laughed.. "Just be careful, the guys a bit of a snake." Suigetsu laughed at his own pun and Ai punched him in the arm. "You're ridiculous!" she squealed then the pair of them laughed together, it had been a while since they had spent some quality time together and this made Ai happy. She had missed her former partner and had been to busy to really see how he was doing. She felt glad knowing he was okay, despite his new partner not being exactly to his satisfaction. Her thoughts then turned to her master, how did she really feel about him? and why was everyone so worried? Was there something other people could see that she didn't? That was going to trouble her for some time. <p>


	13. Chapter 13

"There's still an opening," Uren cried out as Sasuke jabbed her quickly in the ribs. The bruise was already forming even as the Uchiha retracted his hand. "You keep shifting out of the stance I taught you," he continued, irritation lining his tone. "Keep to it or I'll always be able to hit you." 'You'll always be able to hit me regardless of my stance, wonderboy.' Uren thought moodily to herself, her face scrunching up to show her dissatisfaction at the way the 'lesson' was panning out. So far all Sasuke had done was show her the correct stance, demand she took said stance and then he had began striking her from every angle while scolding her on not keeping her stance. "How am I supposed to defend myself," Uren growled through gritted teeth. "If I'm not allowed to move from this stance?" "You can defend while keeping your stance," Sasuke replied, apparently unaffected by the girl's tone. "The stance should move like liquid...like water. A stance is not a still position, not in my mind anyway, the stance should flow from one body part to the next. It should feel natural," Uren gazed at him with interest. Sasuke stared back at her for a moment before moving closer to her. Without asking for permission, the boy lifted her hand and began rearranging her into the initial stance he had taught her. "When I next go to strike you," he murmured, his lips dangerously close to her cheek as he moved more parts of her body. "Keep in mind your stance; do not stay in the same position, but do not break it. Do what is natural to the stance, not what is natural for you." Uren's breath came out shallow as a red blush overtook her skin. "Y...yes." she nodded. Sasuke moved away and Uren felt herself missing the close contact. And then Sasuke darted forwards, his fists ready to harm her body. Uren moved quickly; managing to throw Sasuke's hand off course, of course this didn't truly affect the Uchiha, Uren knew that Sasuke could still easily defeat her; improving her stance would have no affect upon any battles against him, but she was learning a better way of blocking attacks; something that had usually been her downfall against stronger opponents. "Well done." Sasuke nodded, stepping back and refraining from continuing his attack. Uren nodded, suddenly overcome by how close he was, once again. He stood directly in front of her. She stared at the ground and a silence past over them, Uren felt she should say something...something meaningful, but emotion was not her forte (and it was not, apparently, Sasuke's either) and so she settled on the easiest option. "Th...thank you." she managed, still a little outstanded by how enamored she was feeling with the Uchiha. "Hn," Sasuke tilted his head to the side slightly and Uren could feel him judging her, apparently he was pleased enough by what he found and he nodded as he stepped back. "You should wear your hair back too." Uren's head snapped up at this. Training was one thing, but fashion advice. "Excuse me?" she demanded, all her embarrassment, at what she was feeling for him, gone in an instant. "My hairstyle is perfectly fine! I know you think you look great and, trust me, you do, but my hair has nothing to do with..." the girl trailed off when she realised Sasuke was smirking at the ground, apparently amused by her outburst.  
>"I meant to make fighting easier," he stated slowly, before glancing up. "Your hair might get in your eyes, as it's so long." "Oh..." Uren murmured, feeling another flush of embarrassment take over her. "Yeah...that...that makes sense..." "I look great do I?" Sasuke pressured, that small smirk still upon his lips.<br>Uren stared at him in horror, just now realising what she had said. She looked frantically around before looking back to him; wanting to regain some of her ferocity and respect back, she stepped back. "...No!" she yelped before poofing out of there. Leaving, for once, a rather surprised and amused Sasuke Uchiha in the training room. 'Hot headed, reminds me of Naruto, hmn,' he mused to himself. 'But with her stance improved, she could come in handy...' Then the Uchiha poofed away; the usual thoughts of revenge returning to his head. However...there was still a small, irritating part of his mind focused on the way Uren's hair had swished as she had denied what she had yelled. 


	14. Chapter 14

Ai exhaled loudly and paused before she attempted to knock on the door of her masters' room. It swung open before her knuckles could connect with the door and she slowly entered. She closed the door behind her, and was addressed before she could even speak. "You must have lots of questions for me." The smooth silky texture of Orochimaru's voice danced in Ai's ears. She was grateful to hear it. "Y-yes.." she stammered, it was a bizar moment, he had almost read her mind. "I can't answer them." He continued flatly, and watched as Ai's delicate features formed a frown. "Well why not?" she blurted out, immediately covering her mouth with her hand. Orochimaru smirked and licked his lips at her outburst. She blinked and he was towering over her. "I'm so glad you closed the door..." Ai gasped and felt her back hit the door she had closed on her way in. A mixture of lust and fear pooled in her eyes as they connected with her masters'. His hand was lent against the door behind her as he bent down to her. His ebony hair fell over her shoulders and she trembled at his sickly sweet aroma. His golden eyes shimmered as he let his other hand play with the green tousles of Ai's hair. "You know better than to talk to me like that..." he hissed and drew even closer. Ai gulped, she didn't know whether she was in paradise or serious danger. "Especially when you fear is so terribly attractive." Ai decided she was definitely afraid, but it felt more like an exhilarating rush. She placed a hand on the firm chest of the snake sannin, logically to try and push him away, but instead he just used it to push his body closer to hers. "So.." he began in a sickly sweet tone. "What did you want to ask me?" he whispered over her lips. Ai felt she was going to faint, she was desperately hoping that some how, instead of obviously playing games with her, he would just kiss her. As expected however he laughed light heartedly and backed off towards his work station. Ai took a moment to regain full conciousness before making her way over to him. "Well, why do you keep doing things like that?" she said, she had decided Orochimaru didn't scare her anymore. The sannin started working on somthing and answered casually. "Because it's fun." he smiled as he continued to work, then added "and because I like you." Ai's cheeks turned an unflattering scarlet colour. "We-well...I.." she began but Orochimaru cut her off. "I'm busy at the moment, I'll summon you when I need you." With that he turned his full attention back to his work leaving Ai to exit the room of her own accord. She did so and shut the door, taking one last glance back at her master. Even from behind she could tell he was up to no good.


	15. Chapter 15

'Stupid Sasuke making me say stupid things and therefore making me look stupid!' Uren cursed moodily in her head as she slammed her door open. 'Where did that Uchiha get off anyway? Hmm...Uren would really like to know tha-No! Shut up Uren, shut up!' Uren hit the palm of her hand against her forehead repeatedly.

"That's gonna leave a redmark and it ain't gonna look good."

Uren looked up, not surprised to see her best friend sitting, cross-legged, on her bed. "Shut up," she retorted immediately.

Ai giggled and swung her legs onto the floor. "Fuck off," she replied good-naturedly before she patted the mattress next to her, indicating Uren should sit down. "But for real Uren, what's with the head slapping? That doesn't really fit with your 'ice cold' image."

"You and I both know I don't have an 'ice cold' image," Uren replied moodily as she sat down next to Ai.

The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a while before Ai leant sideways. "Sasuke?" she inquired, not having to look at Uren to know the girl had gone pink.

"I just..." Uren stopped herself and sighed uncomfortably. The girl wrapped her arms around her stomach, holding herself close. "I just don't get him, is all."

"Oh trust me, I know all about that!" Ai affirmed in her usual over dramatic way. The girl fell out of her sitting position, backwards onto the bed, splaying her arms out as she stared at the ceiling. "Maybe we should just buy some whips and whip the both of them whenever they do something 'mysterious',"

Uren didn't reply, but in the silence she could almost hear her friend's mind whirring. Here it came, the inevitable rude (most likely sexual) comment.

"Whips are good for other things too," Ai continued, she sat back up and grinned into her friend's face.

"Ai," Uren scolded moodily, pushing the green-haired girl away from her. "Keep your hormones in check."

"Says the one who goes red at the very mention of Sasu-You've gone red already! I've not even finished his name and you've gone red!" Ai squealed with delight and burst out laughing.

Uren sat throughout her laughter, wearing a look of pure contempt, for her friend, upon her face.

Ai sighed happily after her laughing spree and then swung an arm around her friend. "Go on then," she grinned. "What happened with Sasuke?"

Uren hastily explained what had transpired between herself and the Uchiha, she almost hated talking about it. Ai rolled her eyes. "So uh... When you are gonna admit to well, yourself at least, that you like him?" Uren exhaled sharply and turned to Ai, her eyes full of despair. "Yeah." She threw her hands at her sides. "I like him. He's all I think about. Alright?" She pulled at her hair in frustration. Ai smiled at her friend and comfortingly rubbed her back. "That's totally fine! You are allowed to like boy ya know!" Ai laughed cheerily. Uren wasn't convinced however. "I don't know Ai... I just feel like, I'm not really honouring my sister's memory. She hated him." Uren hugged herself again, a bit tighter, but continued. "I mean he really annoys me, because he makes fun of me constantly..." Ai smirked, "Uh-huh..." she let her friend carry on, it was obvious she didn't really have anyone else to talk to. "But like, we have these moments, that completely confuse me..." Ai giggled "Well this is seriously juicy! You should spill more often!" This comment received a death glare. "Whatever..." Ai pouted and begged her to continue "Fine... well yeah... He just, I dunno the way he looks at me sometimes gives me serious butterflies. Also, everyone seems to be a bit weirded out that he's training me at all." Ai nodded in agreement. "Yeah from what I've heard he only cares about killing some rival of his and the fact that he's dedicating time to train you at all is like massive!" Uren blushed a little and smiled. "Haha, I guess so... Well what about you Dr. Snakes?" Ai squealed and proceeded to tell her all about how Orochimaru had told her that he liked her. To her surprise Uren didn't come out with some twisted warning about Orochimaru's nature, she seemed genuinley happy for her. "So, he's like totally flirting with you then? That's crazy, I can't imagine him acting the way you've just described!" exclaimed Uren. It felt good to talk Ai about things, she made a mental note to do so more often.

The girl's gossiping was cut off, however, by a knock at the door. Before Uren could move, Ai bounced up and leapt towards the door, swinging it open only to reveal Kabuto in the doorway, a smug smirk on his face. Ai, immediately, went to swing the door shut on him, but Kabuto was ready and his foot was already in the doorway before the mist ninja could close it fully.

"Immaturity," he stated slowly. "Will not get you your dinner."

"Dinner's ready?" Ai asked. "C'mon Uren," the girl barged past Kabuto and waited in the hallway for Uren to join her. "It's dinnertime!"

Uren and Ai fell into step together and began making their way to the large dining hall, Kabuto following along -a safe distance- behind them. Before Ai had arrived, Uren had never usually attented the huge meals each evening. She had preferred to receive her food in her room, but ever since Ai had arrived, she was forever being dragged to the dining hall. If Uren was completely honest...she did quite enjoy the company. Sitting in the hall hearing everybody chat wildly could be quite humorous, not to mention Ai usually managed to get into at least one fight a day over food. However as she and Ai entered the great room today, Uren's heart dropped; sitting with his back to her, on one of the many long table that filled the room, was Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke never came to the dining hall for food. His main aim in life seemed to be centered around avoiding unnecessary human contact and yet...here he was, sitting brazen amongst a crowd of women who were currently cooing over him. Uren glanced over to Ai to see if her friend had noticed and her face dropped when she realised that the mist ninja had, indeed, noticed.

"I've found our seats," the green-haired girl whispered, her eyes set on Sasuke's table.

"No, Ai," Uren protested quietly. "Besides, there's a load of...girls there," Uren's lip curled as she watched the girls swarm all over the object of her affections.

"Don't worry about it!" Ai stage whispered back. "I'll handle it,"

Before Uren could react, Ai flipped away and landed on the table Sasuke was currently situated at. Mustering the scariest facial expression she could, the little mist ninja looked down upon the girls -now staring at her in horror- below.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Ai roared. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM! I AM THE DEADLIEST NINJA THAT OROCHIMARU HAS EVER SEEN! HE EVEN SAID THAT HIMSELF! I DEMAND YOU MOVE. MOVE NOW LITTLE ONES, LEST I EAT YOUR FUCKING HEARTS AND RIP YOUR FUCKING FACES OFF!"

The girls -who were not strong ninja, simply weak lackies of Orochimaru's- screamed in horror and flooded away from the table, leaving Ai to settle in across from Sasuke. Sasuke looked at her with a rather bland look, obviously judging her.

"Cool it hottie, it's not just me sitting with you," Ai laughed in reply to Sasuke's question, before she yanked a plate from the middle of the table and began tearing into whatever it was that was on it.

Uren watched all this transpire and then slowly tried to gather her nerves. Eventually the girl mustered them and she slowly walked over to join Ai at the table. Sasuke watched her sit down and a small -quick- smile slipped across his lips before it disappeared once again.

"Hello Uren," he greeted.

"mmf," Uren replied. "What're you doing in here? You don't eat in here. You should...you eat in your room, don't you? Why aren't you eating there?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Am I not allowed to eat in here?"

"You are, it's just..." Uren trailed off and glanced at the table, feeling uncomfortable.

Ai glanced up from her food and took in the situation before her. "Oh hey fuckbutts," she exclaimed, suddenly jumping up from the table. "I've actually gotta leave," the girl made wide eyes at Uren, signifying she was going to leave her in Sasuke's company.

Uren shot a desperate look back, but to no avail as Ai skipped out of the hall, high-fiving a few of her brutish friends along the way. Uren was left with Sasuke...

For all of a few seconds anyway, because suddenly a huge lackie of Orochimaru's sat down next to her and swung his arm around her shoulders. Uren stiffened immediately. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Well hello beautiful," the lackie purred, making Uren's skin crawl.


	16. Chapter 16

Ai giggled to herself as she left the dining hall. "Hopefully Uren will stop freaking out long enough to acctually have a conversation with that boy." She skipped round the corner and suddenly gasped when Orochimaru's slender figure barred her path. "Well good evening Ai" he seductively hissed. Ai was numb, she couldn't muster a response. "You must be hungry, you are usually tearing up the food hall by now." Ai blushed and made a murmuring noise. Orochimaru rolled his eyes and tilted the girl's head up so his golden eyes could shine into hers. "Why don't you come have dinner with me hmmn? Make up for all those nasty injections you so bravely sat through." Ai's eyes widened in disbelief. "Yes!" she positively squealed. Orochimaru chuckled and brushed some hair away from her face. He lead her back to his room where a lavish meal had been prepared. There were already 2 plates. Ai wondered for a moment if the snake sannin had planned this before hand. "I usually eat with Kabuto..." Ai's face dropped. "Oh right..." She still preferred to think that the meal had been placed there for just them. She sat down at the bench that was usually covered in lab equipment and shuffled a little closer to her master. Orochimaru sat next to her, but at the head of the table and gestured at the food. "Help yourself" he said smoothly. Ai slowly piled food onto her plate and attempted to eat it in the most princess like way possible. The meal passed silently but contently and once Ai had stuffed herself completely she yawned and stretched. Orochimaru seemed to be in a pleasant mood, Ai wondered if it was because she was there. "Enjoy yourself?" Orochimaru spoke softly. Ai nodded and blushed. "Yeah, thank you very much." she bowed her head, only to have Orochimaru lift it back up with his silken hand. Then he lent in, like he was about to kiss her, but stopped short of her lips. Ai let out some sort of confused "uh" noise. Orochimaru smirked and flicked his tongue in and out briefly, part of it connecting ever so slightly with his subordinates lip. Ai felt her heart beat increase ten fold. Orochimaru drew back but still cupped the girl's face in his hand. "You're so much you know." Ai gulped but managed a reply. "Y-you to." Orochimaru laughed at her and drew back. "Right, off with you now, I have things to prepare." Ai felt as if she were floating somewhere high in the sky and obediently rose from her seat. "I'll see you later..." she managed to get out dreamily before she left the room where she briefly heard her master hiss "Yes, you most definitely will."


	17. Chapter 17

"Would you care to remove your hands from me?" Uren's voice dripped with poison. Her words came out delicate, but they were heavy with threat, a threat that the lackie seemingly did not care for.

"Don't be such a downer," he chuckled and his hand crept along Uren's shoulders, before he slowly traced a line down the girl's back. "I want to have some fun, don't-"

The man didn't get to finish his sentence as his face was suddenly implanted into the solid rock of the floor. Uren looked up, not surprised to see that Sasuke was the one responsible for the man's current predicament. At the sound of the lackie's face slamming into the floor, everybody looked up; whispering quickly began. Sasuke was not a regular in the dining hall, and he was not known to attack anyone either. Hell...he wasn't known to interact with anyone, let alone attack them. Uren sat, successfully keeping her emotions under reign, as she regarded Sasuke with a cool eye. If there was one thing that Uren was truly proud of, it was the fact that she could handle herself. She didn't need this stupid boy with his emotionless gazes and hot face to defend her. She didn't need anyone to defend her. Why had he defended her anyway? What. The. Hell. Was Sasuke's deal? Suddenly filled with annoyance, Uren slowly got to her feet, her eyes upon Sasuke's the whole way. For once, Sasuke wasn't going to be the cool, calm, collected one. For once, Sasuke was going to have to wonder what her deal was. Uren padded past him, not saying a word and she felt Sasuke's eyes on her back the whole way. She hoped against hope that there was a quizzical look within those inky black depths, because she couldn't deal with being out of control of the situation...not anymore.

Uren managed to make it out of the dinning hall and half way down the corridor before her emotions flared and she pulled at her long hair. "WHAT THE FUCK!" she almost screamed and made a bee line for her room, her heart rate increasing. "It's fine, it's fine you got out of there looking super emotionless and fucking cool. It's fine. Maybe Ai's in my room and we can talk... Talking? Since when do I need to talk to anyone? This guy has been driving me insane since he fucking got her-" Her rapid train of thought was cut off when she saw Kabuto leaning against the wall near her room, the most slimy looking smirk adorned his face. "What's wrong Uren? You look so much like your sister when you're upset..." Uren blazed with anger at his words. "There is nothing wrong with me Kabuto, I am fine. Mind your own business." She walked forward to open her door but Kabuto's laugh scratched at her ears. "Seems Sasuke can't control his emotions around you, that's very..." he paused to let the sheer volume of his next word count. "Interesting..." Uren's eye visbly twitched and she turned from her door and walked right up to the medic ninja. "I will kill you." she said slowly, right up in his face. Kabuto's smirk widened and he pushed his glasses up with a finger. "Try it, I'll gut you like a fish. Just like your precious older sister." Uren went numb and felt every muscle in her body paralyse. Kabuto used this distraction to disappear, leaving nothing but an echo of laughter behind. Uren felt herself begin to shake and as she felt her eyes fill up with tears, she covered her mouth to silence herself and rushed towards her door handle. She desperately threw herself inside her room and smashed the door closed. She crawled onto her bed and hugged herself tightly. She wanted to disappear, but she was grateful that nobody could she her, or so she thought...

Meanwhile Ai danced dreamily down the hallway elsewhere in the Northern base, unlike her friend, she could not be happier. She strolled into the dinning hall to see how her little set up was coming along, only to find that the two love birds were no where to be seen. Curiosity got the better of her and she asked one of her lackie friends what had happened. "You mean you didn't see it?" the giant henchman replied to her. Ai got annoyed at looking up at him and so jumped up onto the table next to him. They were now the same height. She shook her head. "Rorkio tried hitting on that freaky crystal girl and like..." Ai's face went from curious to obvious disdain. "Don't tell me, Uren fucken destroyed him with crystals and he's off in the hospital wing dying of blood loss." The lackie scratched his head in confusion then continued. "No actually, that equally as freaky Uchiha boy knocked him to the ground with one hand!" Ai's eyes widened in disbelief. "WHAT!" She roared then hopped off the table and headed straight for Uren's room. "I bet she is sooo proud of herself!" Ai laughed mentally and upon reaching Uren's door tried to let herself only to find it was locked. "Huh?" she tried again "Uren?"

she called through the wooden door. "Uren it's me! Ai! What's going on? Why is your door locked? Let me in!" she tried again but there was no response. "Is she even in there?"


	18. Chapter 18

Go away Uren groaned inside her head as Ai banged away on her door, irritating the fuck out of the older Kunoichi. Ai had been banging for a straight five minutes now, what would it take to- Uren's thoughts were interrupted when the door suddenly collapse inwards and shattered into hundreds of fragments. Ai stood in the doorway, bringing down her outstretched foot as she looked at her best friend, who was still curled up underneath the covers. "Hey Uren, I've been banging for age..." Ai trailed off once she realised that something was obviously wrong with the other girl. Uren looked confused and also on the verge of tears. "Uren...I...what's wrong?" the little green-haired girl rushed to her friend's side, sitting herself down and gazing at her with concern. "Nothing," Uren replied before hiding her head under the pillow. Ai promptly removed the pillow and held it over her head as she gazed worriedly at Uren. "No seriously, what's wrong Uren?" "I...Sasuke..." Uren gave up and then looked at Ai pitifully. "I don't know what the hell to do." "What's he done wrong?" Ai questioned, she hit one of her fists into her palm and glowered down at her friend menacingly. "What's he done, Uren? I'll batter him!" "He's not done anything wrong," Uren murmured. "That's the thing, I'm annoyed at him for no good reason. Well...it's not a normal reason anyway." "What's the reason?" Ai questioned, gazing at her friend curiously. "He...he tried to protect me and I don't know why and it's just pissing me off," Uren grumbled. Now that she'd said it aloud, it just sounded stupid. This was why the girl hated talking to people. Ai didn't reply and, for a moment, Uren thought that maybe the girl had left, but when Uren turned to look at her all she saw was a great big toothy grin accompanied by suggestive raised eyebrows.  
>"What're you doing Ai-" Uren went to growl, but she was interrupted by Ai leaping off of the bed and singing:<br>"YOU LIKE HIM, YOU LIKE HIM, YOU REALLY REALLY LIKE HIM. YOU LOVE HIM, YOU LOVE HIM-"  
>"Shut up Ai!" Uren screeched desperately, knowing that anyone would be able to hear Ai's high pitched tones from a mile away. "I'm sorry!" Ai replied. "I'm just excited! You so obviously really like him..." she trailed off and then grinned triumphantly. "Oh my God, I'm going to find out what he thinks of you!" "Ai no!" Uren yelped, but it was too late, Ai had already poofed off, intent on embarrassing the hell out of her best friend.<p>Uren rolled her eyes and looked over at her door that was completely destroyed. "Oh Jesus, now everyone can see in here." She huffed and forced herself up off the bed and looked in the mirror, her face was stained with tears. "Ugh that is not a good look" she said to herself and roughly wiped her face. She grabbed a crystal brush and pulled it through her long black hair. At least she hadn't revealed Kabuto's confession. Ai would have had no problem storming over to Kabuto and trying to murder him. This obviously wouldn't have worked, the medic ninja was more powerful than both of them. "I have to get stronger" she regarded herself cooly in the mirror. She had decided on revenge. She glanced down at a hair tie that lay idly on her dresser. She raised her eyebrow at it and slipped it on her wrist then began braiding her hair. "That looks much better." Uren gasped as Sasuke's voice spoke to her quietly. His inky eyes shone back through his reflection in the mirror, a slight smirk on his face. Uren turned round quickly, rage filled she was going to demand what he was doing in her room. However as her face ended up but inches from his, she was utterly silent.<p>

Ai bustled down the corridor in search of the Uchiha. She was filled with excitement until she bumped into Kabuto who pushed her back before frowning at her. "Watch where you are going." he said angrily before Ai launched a barrage of curse words at him. The pair were suddenly silenced however but the echoy sound of Orochimaru's laughter. He appeared behind Ai and wrapped a smooth hand round her shoulder. "You are both simply terrible" he hissed and chuckled. He used his other hand to stroke Ai's hair. "Ai, you should be nicer to Kabuto, he does lots of awful things for me." Ai pouted at her master and he smiled back at her. "Kabuto, I trust the next set of clinical trials for our... experiment have been prepared?" Kabuto smirked, pushing his glasses up and nodded. This seemed to please the snake sannin. "Very good. Now, Ai, if you wouldn't mind coming with me?" Kabuto disappeared and the pair slinked away towards the medical labs. Ai so happy to see her master again so soon that she completely forgot all about trying to interrogate Sasuke. She also had not paid any attention to what Orochimaru had said he needed her for... 


	19. Chapter 19

It took a moment for Uren to recover her breath, but once she had she moved away, stepping backwards visibly. "What...what do you want?" Despite her best efforts to keep her voice calm, it came out shaky. Sasuke's scent was all around her; it was like aniseed, the sweet smell delightful. But she didn't like it. This was her room, not his, and she would be damned before she let him even imply he was the dominant one in this situation. Rousing herself, Uren pushed past Sasuke and sat herself upon her bed, refusing to look at him. "Just because I have no door does not mean you are free to walk in at any time," she said coldly. "What do you want?" Sasuke didn't reply, unnerving Uren. The girl looked over at him, her braid swishing, to see he was simply staring at her, some of his fingers upon his lips. His lips looked soft and welcoming as he pushed his fingers against them, but Uren wasn't allowing herself to think things like that. Oh hell no was she. She darted her head forward to imply he should either speak or leave. "I came to see how you are," Sasuke said quietly. It irritated her so much that he was so calm? Shouldn't he be furious at the world? Wasn't his main aim in life revenge? How could one stay so calm in the face of such heated rage within themselves? Uren's resentment for Kabuto suddenly bubbled up and she found herself raising her voice. "Well I'm fine, see? Now you if you would just leav-" Sasuke was suddenly right in front her, he leant down so that their eyes were level, the tip of his nose just bumped against her's. "All I did was stop that guy from annoying you," he murmured, his dark depths searched Uren's eyes. His delicate eyebrows pulled down into a confused frown as he next spoke, the warmth of his breath so achingly close to Uren's lips. "I don't understand why you suddenly ran off." Uren could feel her breath hitching, her eyes darted down to Sasuke's lips and then back to his eyes. It was too uncomfortable staring into those onyx orbs. His eyes seemed heated from beneath; metal red hot to the touch. She felt her eyes slipping to the side, focusing on the wall as she spoke. "Yeah well, you don't seem to understand a lot of things," she grumbled back. Sasuke's arms suddenly settled down on the bed next to her, moving the mattress down near her hips. The intensity in the room grew. "Well, why don't you explain what I'm not understanding?" Each word was deliberate. Uren watched his lips as he spoke, but she refused to answer. He was playing games...that was all, she assured herself of this. There was a while of silence and then Sasuke withdrew slightly, they were still close, but their noses were no longer touching. He cocked his head. "What's wrong Uren?" he questioned and he genuinely sounded like he wanted to know. Uren paused and her eyes locked with his.

"Did you know my sister?"  
>The words were out of her mouth before she had the chance to say them. Sasuke's facial expression didn't change, except for a slight quirk of his eyebrows. The Uchiha drew himself back further, but his eyes still remained entrapped within her's. "Guren? Yes," his answer was without emotion. "I don't think she was a fan of mine though." "No," Uren agreed thoughtfully. "And...that's the thing, isn't it?" Sasuke crossed his arms and looked down on her. "What do you mean?" he questioned. "My sister...she...she hated you and I..." Uren trailed off. "You...what?" Sasuke prompted, his voice more gentle than Uren had ever heard. Still, the girl refused to answer and so eventually Sasuke had to speak. "Yes...Guren was never a friend of mine," he conceded. "But that was down to Orochimaru's doing, not mine. If you're worried that I somehow mistreated her or was cruel to her...I wasn't. I didn't have time for people then...nor do I have time for people now. At least..." he paused and Uren slowly lifted her head to see that he was smiling at her; it was a confused sort of smile as if he was puzzled as to the reason behind it, but he was smiling nonetheless and it made Uren's heart swell. "I didn't think I did,"<br>Uren could feel an unattractive blush consuming her face and she ducked her head once again. "Why are you asking me about your sister now, though?" Sasuke inquired. "You could have asked within the first few moments of meeting me, were your truly curious." Uren stalled and thoughts of Kabuto ran through her head. "...Kabuto said something."  
>Sasuke's face became stony. "Kabuto says a lot of things," he commented dryly. "Most of it is not to be trusted."<br>Uren nodded and scratched at her palms for a while. "Do you know what happened to my sister?" she asked after a moment of silence, and when she looked up, her eyes were full of hope.  
>Sasuke looked down back at her, unblinking. "What did Kabuto say to you?" he asked quietly. <p>


	20. Chapter 20

"I decided I should explain what my experiments on you are for." Orochimaru said casually as the pair entered the laboratory. Ai gulped at the sight of all the heavy duty medical equipment that lay about the lab. "Umn..." she started but Orochimaru continued to speak over her. "You are Suigetsu are quite unique, your cells regenerate at an inhuman pace compared to the rest of us." Ai cocked her head to the side in confusion. "The thing is, if I can increase the pace of the regeneration in your cells, you would effectively be invincible." Ai frowned, she didn't really understand how that worked. Orochimaru chuckled at her and continued. "Picture this, remember when you got hit badly while out collecting data?" Ai winced and nodded. "Instead of ending up in a thousand pieces back in the hospital wing, you would have regenerated on site. You would be invincible, and immortal." He licked his lips as he ended the sentence. Ai shivered, maybe everyone was right and she was just being used. It was common knowledge that Orochimaru's main aim was to become immortal. Orochimaru stroked the side of Ai's face and sighed, she immediately went pink. "So now that you know, do you still trust me not to kill you?" His golden eyes glinted as a smirk slid across his face. Ai hesitated a moment but caught her topaz gaze on his. Her fingers went to the silky soft hand of his that he still had on the side of her face. Orochimaru's tongue flickered over his lip slightly making Ai smile. "Yeah, I guess so." she giggled and Orochimaru drew back. "Excellent, not that your answer was going to change anything!" He laughed loudly and turned his back to the little mist ninja, he seemed to be in a very good mood as worked away at one of the stations. Ai smiled to herself, but the haunting fact of what her master had said still remained. "Not that your answer was going to change anything..."  
>Ai bit at her thumb nervously as Orochimaru prepared a needle with some unknown substance. Humming quietly as he worked he turned to Ai and flicked the needle a devilish smirk plastered on his ivory face. Ai gulped slightly, she really hated injections. "So..." Ai questioned shakily as Orochimaru sat down next to her his golden eyes glistening. "So, all the different chemicals I have been injecting into you are to see what your cells will react to. We will find something that eventually speeds up your regeneration process, if not, then I'll start mixing things..." He laughed and promptly stabbed his subordinate with the full needle, Ai gasped unaware that he wasn't even going to bother look for a vein. This was a side of Orochimaru she hadn't seen before, usually he was so delicate with her and made sure she was alright. Today however, he seemed to be much more interested in the results. The snake sannin pulled the needle out and briskly and covered the girl's wound with a cotton ball. Ai didn't feel any impact of the drug as of yet but suddenly the look in her master's eye changed. His smirk changed to a warming smile and after replacing his equipment on a tray on the table he pulled at the girl's hand. This action completely knocked Ai off guard. "Come here," he hissed subtly and ended up pulling the small girl onto his lap. He had his arm round her waist, his other hand stroked the side of her face tenderly. Before Ai had time to question her master's actions or pass out from sheer joy, her eyelids suddenly became very heavy and a feverish blush made its way to her pale cheeks. Orochimaru pressed his forehead against hers and held her close, she was loosing conciousness. The light of Ai's topaz eyes was fading fast, her world seemed to be illuminated by the golden glow of her master's eyes. She tried to speak but couldn't, she felt paralysed and became scared. "Shh," Orochimaru whispered, "It'll be alright. Sleep well, my little wonder of nature." Ai lost conciousness and the warmth of Orochimaru's smile froze into a sickly smirk. "Oh Kabuto!" he called quietly, his best subordinate appearing from behind the lab door. "Time to take this experiment to the next level" his dark laugh echoed through the dimness of the labratory. <div> 


	21. Chapter 21

Sasuke was gone. He'd left as soon as she'd told him what Kabuto had said. Uren had no idea where Sasuke had gone, she had no idea why he had gone and she had no clue what he'd been thinking. Great, now she felt even more confused than before. This was why she hated...No, no Uren shook her head; she was not going to start thinking about stuff like that. Glancing around, Uren slowly slipped her hand underneath her mattress and retrieved her sister's journal. She began thumbing through it, but something just didn't feel right...where was Ai? Surely her friend would have came back once she hadn't found Sasuke? Unless she'd ran into Kabuto. Uren's eyes narrowed at the thought and she steadily got to her feet. Or worse...Orochimaru. Uren was trying to be happy for her best friend, she really was, but Orochimaru was bad news, there were no two ways about it. Uren moved towards the door, paused slightly, but then forced herself to continue walking. There were two options; either Ai was fine and in that case, that was great, they could have a talk, or...Orochimaru or Kabuto were with her...neither of those options were fine. No matter how much Ai tried to convince her friend that it was. The trouble was there was a multitude of different labs in the complex...how was Uren to know which one they could be in? If they were even in a lab. The girl shuddered at all the other rooms they could possibly be in. Then the girl steeled herself, she was going to have to find her friend...Sasuke was going to have to wait.

"Looks like we have extracted everything we could my Lord" Kabuto's eerie voice echoed around the dimly lit labratory. The work bench was drenched in scarlett. "I supose so..." Orochimaru mused, his tounge danced quietly outside his lips, his golden eyes brimmed with a desire to learn more. More about why the blood that dripped from the ashen body of his subordinate was so special and how he could unlock its secrets for himself. "Stich her up then, what she doesn't know won't kill her." Orochimaru poofed away leaving nothing but smoke and a hollow cackle. Kabuto flexed his hands and grinned at the state of their subject. "Perhaps I could accidentally put her back together wrong..." He laughed and edged towards her but his facial expression suddenly changed with the atmosphere. "You will do no such thing." a cold emotionless voice vibrated from the shadows, Sasuke emerged. Kabuto turned to him with blood soaked hands. "Or what?" he started but Sasuke's icy stare got the better of him. "I would never displease Orochimaru. Then again, why do you care?" The ebony haired boy folded his arms. "Hn. You think I'm here because I want to be? I'm carrying out orders. Now clean this mess up before anyone sees." Sasuke turned to leave and vanished in response to Kabuto's final remark "Before precious Uren sees." His laugher was trapped behind the closed door. Uren's eyes were suddenly upon Sasuke's as he had just exited the room. They were so full of pain and despiration, he was reminded of Naruto once again. The thought almost made its way onto his face. He continued to block the girl's path into the lab, she went to raise her voice but he spoke first. "You can't go in there." his voice was firm, cold. "What's he done? Tell me what he's done to her!" Uren was almost hysterical, she didn't care it was Sasuke who was blocking her path all she cared about was making sure her friend was ok. She went to push Sasuke away but instead he clasped at her shoulders and held her rigidly in place. "Please don't fight me. She is alright. I promise." Uren gritted her teeth. "She's alright? She's obviously not alright! And YOU promise? Who are you yo promise anything to me?"  
>Sasuke didn't reply, but his head dipped slightly. Uren immediately regretted what she had said, feeling that perhaps she had been unecassarily unkind to him, but she was stressed! Not to mention worried. Her best friend was in a lab with a mad man who was doing who knew what with her.<br>"Sasuke,"  
>Something in her tone made the Uchiha meet her eyes. Uren stared into the black depths and saw a flicker of emotion...something so rare to see when it came to Sasuke. Something rare to see in general in Orochimaru's base. Everyone was so heartless, so cruel. Ai was one of the few who Uren had seen show compassion, even if it was only to her. The thought of the most ninja being hurt was unbearable. "Please," Sasuke watched the words drip from her lips and then, without a word, he slammed the lab door open, disappearing inside. Uren stood stock still, confused as to what to do. The girl didn't have much time to move anyway, as Sasuke reappeared in front of her, holding Ai in his arms. He watched the girl in front of him. She stared at him, she looked so vunerable right now, her mouth curved into a perfect 'o', moisture staining her eyelashes making them spiky. Then she tore her eyes away from Sasuke and looked to Ai. The crystal ninja let out a shriek of something akin to either horror of anger and rushed to be close to her best friend. Ai lay limp in Sasuke's arms, her eyes closed, her hair damp against her forehead, sweat trickled down her pale face and even further down her ashy coloured neck, making its way along her decimated body. The smell of blood hung over her, though there was no sign of it upon her. "I'll take her back to her room," Sasuke decided, he felt uncomfortable seeing Uren look so shocked. The girl stepped back, her hair swaying, and she nodded numbly, her hands pressed to her mouth. Sasuke disappeared in a poof of smoke and Uren blinked. There was a moment of silence as Uren processed all that had just happened and then she looked up at the lab door, her gaze hardened.<p>

There was nothing but an empty blackness. Ai felt cold, but strangely comfortable. She then gained awarness of her body, she moved her arms, her legs, her hands, then her fingers. On the premis of wondering where she was a subtle hiss sounded in her ear. She searched the darkness but found nothing. Still nothing; then suddenly the dimension became that little bit brighter - large serpants, or perhaps it was just the one, encircled the space that was visual. Ai became nervous and bit at her lip, where was she? 'Don't be afraid...' came a familiar whisper. Ai closed her eyes in an effort to block out the ominous serpants body that seemed to be growing; expanding in her direction. 'Its just you and me here.' the familiar voice sounded closer, like the person it belonged to was standing not half a metre away. Ai's eyes opened 'Then where are you?' she asked quitetly - the scales looked bigger. 'I am here.' The voice was louder, clearer. Ai blinked and all of a sudden the space where the darkness was - was filled with the all to well known golden glow of her mster's eyes. Ai gasped at his sudden presence - the sudden feeling of his grip on her upper arm, the warmth he brought to the darkness which he seemed to own. 'I am here.' he said again, the serenity of his voice soothed Ai who now belived she was dreaming, fluttered her eyelids closed as she felt Orochiaru's lips press gentley to hers. 'Now, tell me all your secrets...'

*  
>Uren searched the filthy lab with her tear filled eyes; as if searching for the reason for the atrocity. She ran her fingers over blood drenched surgical instruments, viles of toxic chemicals and used needles. She was devistated, why did these things happen? She felt hollow and vaunerable, she couldn't bare to loose her friend, not like this. Her eyes lifted from the floor to see Sasuke, in his alabaster perfection standing close to her. Her eyes where dead, this evoked a shimmer of emotion in the ebony depths of the Uchiha's eyes. 'We need to leave.' he said firmly, and held her by the arms before she could decline. She looked at the floor and whispered; 'Ok.'<br>She and Sasuke made their way back slowly to her room. Sasuke walked slow simply to stay in step with his companion. Uren walked slowly because she wasn't sure she could face the idea of seeing Ai again, not hurt and broken...  
>Uren kept her head down, her eyes fixated on her feet. She couldn't even be pleased that the Uchiha was next to her, walking alongside her, not while her poor, innocent best friend lay, almost upon the cusp of death. Eventually the pair reached the crystal ninja's door, they both came to a stop. There was a silence and then Uren spoke.<br>"I'll probably go and check on Ai later," she murmured, her head still down, her hair obscuring Sasuke's view of her face.  
>"Don't," Sasuke said, his voice almost soft. "I'll check on her; if she is well I'll come and inform you."<br>Uren didn't reply, though she knew that was probably the better plan; if she had to see Ai looking so...DESTROYED again...the older girl wasn't sure she'd be able to take it. "Well..." she trailed off and her hand slowly slipped out. Her warm hand slowly, gently, loosely, interlocked with Sasuke's, her thumb stroked his slightly. "Thank you Sasuke," she murmured. His skin was cool and smooth under her, she breathed in deeply, holding in a shudder.  
>Sasuke made no movement to either talk nor move and so Uren stepped back. She paused before the door, her head pressed against it and then she entered her room, leaving Sasuke outside, his facial expression unknown to her. <p>


End file.
